


Unexpected Twist of Fate

by Best_Name_Ever



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-05-02 18:29:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 113,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5259155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Best_Name_Ever/pseuds/Best_Name_Ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of a hybrid gem named Onniks, searching for answers about the history of his gem.</p><p>Entirely canon divergent. NSFW.</p><p>(Any names and locations mentioned in this 100% fictional fic is purely coincidental)</p><p>"No, of course not" Onniks replied. "It's just... after all I've already seen... I swear - one of these days, I'm gonna be carried away to a place where I'm a side character in a cartoon..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

On the outskirts of Beach City, a young man walked toward the town. Possessing only the clothes on his back - medium-length black hair, tied in a tail and parted down the center with his bangs covering his cheeks, a grayish-silver t-shirt, a pair of black baggy pants with deep pockets and a zipper around each pant leg to be able to convert them into a pair of shorts, and a pair of black sneakers which are barely noticeable due to the pant legs covering them - and with a guitar case slung on his back, he pressed forward towards the town. 

Along the way, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper and unravels it. On it, crudely drawn images were ingrained on the paper: A lighthouse, a green hand next to it, and a yellowish tilted square with a green triangle in the center of it - several markings were etched on the square object that appeared to resemble an angry face. The top of the paper contained only four letters - KBCW. He glanced back in the horizon and notices the barely visible lighthouse. He folded the paper back up, placed it in his pocket and continued onward.

As he walked along the boardwalk, he noticed that the air felt slightly different than when he first approached the town.

"Strange", he thought to himself. "This place seems rather empty. I wonder what's going on".

As he continued down the boardwalk a few minutes later, he heard a crowd of people to his right coming from the beach. He glanced over and noticed a small group of people surrounding a stage, with a bald, middle aged man playing a guitar in the spotlight. The young man gave a couple nods in agreement to the tune.

"Definitely gonna have to check that out later" he thought again to himself as he continued towards the lighthouse.

Several minutes fly by as he walked up the hill leading towards the lighthouse. He began to analyze the surrounding area for any signs of the green hand or the angry yellow square. But after a few moments of observing the tower's perimeter, his search came up empty.

"Are you kidding me? There isn't one single thing here?" he grumped to himself.

After a short pause, he heard the sound of someone clapping from under the cliff several feet from the front of the lighthouse below him. As he stepped towards the edge of the cliff, he kneeled down and peers over it, and noticed a young, brown-skinned, dark brown long-haired girl was sitting on an old log, and a sword with a dark pink pommel resting next to her. She was staring in awe and clapping in amazement near the direction of the lighthouse. As he glanced towards the direction the young girl was facing, that's when he noticed something that felt like his heart stopped momentarily.

A young woman - pale skin, short peach-colored hair that was feathered back, a blue sleeveless shirt with a slightly brighter blue sash, a pair of amber-colored shorts, a pair of pink socks, and a pair of sandals that matched the color of her shirt. What stood out the most about her was the off-white circular object on her forehead. But what drew the young man's attention to her the most was the way she was dancing in the sand. Spinning... Leaping... Contorting... Coupled with her grace and elegance, he was completely mesmerized by her beauty. What seemed like an eternity of being hypnotized by the alluring dancer, the young man's trance was immediately broken when he was startled by a flashing light emitting from the sky. As he looks up, he notices that the sky is barely cloudy. 

"Definitely wasn't lightning" he thought to himself. "There's not enough clouds to-" BOOOOOMMMM!!!! His thoughts were cut off short as a fiery red object crash landed on the beach; the shockwave knocking everyone backwards several feet within a quarter mile radius, while pushing the ocean's tide backwards. The young man stood back up and regained his composure. He removed his guitar case off his back, hid it in a nearby bush, then returned to the cliff to observe the situation. As the object cooled down, it revealed to be a simple grayish metallic sphere - roughly three times taller than the young man. A section of the top of the sphere separated and rotated horizontally to the back of the sphere, and a motor can be heard from the outside. It was lifting something up, and what came out was nothing short of a demon.

There it stood, standing on a platform being elevated up by a motor that was heard from outside. It possessed a humanoid figure with a grainy, dark brown metallic exoskeleton, with a black mist emitting from the joints. Its torso was the largest, most solid part of the exoskeleton, and seemed to be hollow, judging by how the mist was coming out of it. The most distinguished part of this extraterrestrial entity was its helmet - not only because it resembled a dual-horn samurai helm, but also that this creature bore no facial features - no eyes, nose, or mouth; only darkness. But despite having any facial features, it leapt off the sphere and addressed the young woman.

"I'm looking for Pearl. Where is she?" it spoke as the young woman and child were recovering from the shockwave earlier. An object made of light protruded from the bulge on the dancer's forehead in the shape of a spear with a spiral-decorated shaft.

"No way" the young man on the top of the cliff thought to himself. "How did she...?" he continued as he shifted his sight between her and his hands.

"Well, you found her" she - Pearl - answered as she assumed a fighting stance with her spear. "What do you want?"

"I'm Meddio - a mercenary hired by Yellow Diamond from Homeworld. I was sent to eliminate the remaining forces of Rose Quartz's army." it answered.

It then extended its right hand towards Pearl, the fingers curved as if it was holding something invisible. A green fire ball combusted in its palm and projected a short flame towards Pearl, revealing a heavy-looking broadsword. 

"Prepare to taste my blade".

Those words only agitated Pearl further.

"Connie! Get back! It's too dangerous here!" Pearl ordered the child. However, the girl - Connie - ran to Pearl's side.

"No! I can't leave - I have to protect Steven!" Connie rebutted.

Pearl was not pleased with her response.

"Now's not the time to play hero!" Pearl shouted while glancing back at Connie. "How're you gonna protect Steven if you- UUUAAAGGGHH!" 

CRRAACCKK! 

Pearl's brief distraction towards Connie left her open to Meddio's attack - another green fire ball, similar to the one used to summon his sword. The impact from the blast had sent Pearl hurling into the base of the cliff; her body slid out of the concave impression and onto the beach. The attack didn't kill her, but did greatly weaken her. Connie was terrified that Meddio was able knock Pearl down with barely any effort. She was trembling to the point that she couldn't keep her sword steady. Meddio pointed his blade towards Connie, with another fire ball at the tip ready to be launched. 

As the man on the cliff observed these events unfold, when he saw Meddio threaten Connie, he decided to take action. He took several steps back from the edge of the cliff, and with a short sprint, he leapt off the edge towards him.

Meddio snapped his sword towards towards Connie with the fire ball still ignited to get her attention.

"You dare raise your sword against me?" Meddio questioned. "I won't go easy on you, even if you ARE a chi-HOOOAAAAGGGHH!"

Meddio's threat was interrupted when his chest became a kicking target by the descending hero. As the young man kicked Meddio away, he used his momentum to roll backwards and regain his footing, stopping mere feet away from the injured Pearl.

"..Who... are... you...?" Pearl struggled to ask as she attempted to push herself up, but fell to the ground again due to her lack of strength.

""I'm Onniks", the young man answered. "Don't worry - I'm here to help. Just take it easy, alright?"

Meddio stood back up, sword still in hand, somewhat confused, but now realizing who flanked him from mid air.

"Are you crazy?" Connie asked. "Did you see what that... thing... did to Pearl?" she continued as she stares at Pearl in fear.

"Yeah" Onniks answered. "Which wouldn't have happened if you would have listened to her the first time".

His words hit Connie in the feelings like a truck. She knew she messed up. 

"You're right" she replied. "It's all my fault this happened".

"Now's not the time to get all mopey and depressed". he said. "Just help get your... Pearl... friend outta here as far away as possible. I'll hold this guy off". 

Connie returned to Pearl and helped her on her feet, Pearl remembering to take possession of her spear again, using it as leverage since she's taller than Connie, even slouched over her shoulder.

"Are... you sure... you can... handle this...?" Pearl mustered what little strength she had to ask. "He's... stronger than.... what I.... give him credit for".

Onniks blushed for a brief moment, then cracked a small smile with a soft chuckle while extending his right arm out parallel to the ground. In a matter of seconds, a black beam came out of his sleeve and spiraled across his arm, condensing into a ball in his palm. The ball then stretched itself out away from Onniks' palm in the shape of a 30-inch cylinder, then reshaped itself into a charcoal-colored ninjato.

"....I think I can handle him" Onniks answered Pearl with a devious grin.

Pearl stared in awe as she witnessed Onniks conjure a katana-like weapon from thin air.

"What the...? How did... you just... do... that?" Pearl asked, still struggling to regain her strength. 

Onniks gently pointed his sword downward and focused his attention on Meddio in a serious demeanor.

"I'll explain later - I know you're gonna want one, anyways" Onniks replied. "But right now, there's bigger fish to fry. I'll take care of this - just please get to somewhere away from here". he finished. 

As Pearl and Connie nodded in agreement and inched away from the scene, Onniks began to approach Meddio, bringing his sword up and resting the back of the blade on his shoulder.

"Are you done blabbering!?" Meddio snarled. "I don't have the time to be wasting on this sad excuse of an 'army'. I'd rather just finish this fast and get it over with".

"...M'afraid I can't let ya do that" Onniks replied. "See those two over there?" he said as he pointed at Pearl and Connie. "That was your first mistake - threatening someone who can barely defend them self; picking on opponents obviously weaker than him self... You know what we call dirtbags like that were I come from?"

"Let me guess...'cowards'?" a rapidly demotivating Meddio guessed.

"Oh, no..." Onniks answered with a devious smirk,"...We call them 'Dead Meat" he continued as he removed his sword from his shoulder and placed the blade behind him on his right with both hands on the hilt, ready to strike at any second.

"Grrrr...You're gonna pay for that with your blood!" Meddio growled. 

Sword in hand raised at shoulder level, the two combatants charged each other, Onniks being slightly faster due to the lack of armor. As they met in the sand, their blades clashed together in a stalemate of strength. With a quick boost of anger, Meddio pushed Onniks back roughly twenty feet; his feet leaving behind skidmarks in the sand. Onniks lowered his sword and turned around towards the cliff, standing in a sprinting stance

"What are you gonna do - faceplant yourself in that cliff?" Meddio questioned. "I can't say I blame you - I'd knock myself out too, if I had to fight me! HeheheHAHAHA!"

".....Heh" Onniks lightly mumbled to himself, undetected by Meddio. 

Onniks channeled an orb in his left hand and started running towards the cliff. Onniks made it about halfway between his starting point and the cliff, then extended his left hand. The orb stretched out into a circular disk, and Onniks ran directly into it - disappearing in thin air, leaving Meddio, Pearl and Connie completely dumbfounded. Meddio lowered his sword and stood at a relaxed stance.

"Show yourself, coward!" Meddio bellowed. "Or are you afraid of a TRUE fight! Hahahaha *shink* AAAGGGHH!" 

Onniks ran past him from behind, severing Meddio's right arm by slicing an exposed joint in his shoulder. Meddio scanned the area from Onniks snuck by and noticed a a small round object in similar design to Onniks' disk that he summoned shrinking, then dissipated into nothing. He then glanced back and noticed Onniks standing about ten feet away on his previously made skidmarks, ready with his sword lowered.

"Man, that looked like it hurt!" Onniks said. "Looks like you could *snort* use a hand!" he finished, chuckling loudly. A weakened Pearl's hearty "HHHA! - Owww..." can be heard in the distance. 

Meddio was in no way amused by Onniks' sarcasm. A thin translucent red thread extended out of the shoulder area of Meddio's torso armor, and connected to his incapacitated arm. The tread then began tugging on the arm, dragging it on the ground, then reconnecting to his body. Onniks' abhorred the fact that Meddio could regenerate like that.

"....You've gotta be kidding me..." he thought to himself. 

Meddio continued to grow impatient.

"Your shenanigans are getting on my last nerve" Meddio replied. "Are you going to get serious, or am I gonna have to force it outta you?"

"Ugh..." Onniks thought to himself. "You wanna end this quick? You got it" he answered.

He then jumped in the air several feet, then leaned his body forward. As he fell, he pointed his sword to the ground, the sword itself creating a familiar portal on the ground. 

As Meddio observed Onniks' movements, he predicted Onniks' plan by anticipating his trajectory. Meddio took a step back, and was able to get a close-up view of Onniks' sword, which missed him by mere inches. Without hesitation, Meddio knuckled up his right hand and thrusted it into Onniks' stomach as hard as inhumanly possible.

"ACHOOUGH!" Onniks choked as he was propelled back into the air several feet, his sword dissipating mid flight. 

Fist still elevated above his head, Meddio extended his fingers and revealed his palm. A thicker, opaque red strand ejected from his palm and latched onto Onniks' right ankle. With a hefty tug, Meddio dragged Onniks back down close to him, then followed up with a headbutt to the bottom of his sternum.

CRRACCK "D'AAUUGH!" Onniks was then sent hurling toward the cliff. 

Still latched onto Onniks' ankle, Meddio utilized the momentum in Onniks' trajectory and the slack in the thread and jerked on his foot in near full-force, dislocating nearly every bone in it.

CKCKCRRIIIKKKK! "G-G-GAAUUGGHHH!" Onniks screamed in agonizing pain as his body thumped on the ground.

As Meddio relaxed his right hand, the thread around Onniks' foot immediately disintegrated. He then recovered his sword and slowly approached Onniks.

Onniks, with his vision slowly blurring and sharpening, watched Meddio stand directly above him; Meddio's sword held high, waiting for that final blow.

"...Any last words, before I end your pathetic existence, scum?" replied Meddio, now completely fed up with Onniks' antics.

Onniks wanted to reply with a sarcastic quip, but the excruciating pain and blurring vision prevented him from doing so. He was on the verge of passing out when he heard Meddio speak:

"You had your chance. Now - DIE."

........

BOOONGK...... *thump* *sch-sch-sch-sch* "Huuah!" *thud-d-d-d*....

Onniks fought hard to try to regain his vision to see what the ruckus was about. As he tried to focus his sight, the blurriness kept him from a normal view. What he was barely able to see was a kid with short black hair with a red t-shirt and blue pants, and looked like he was holding a small pink circle. Past the boy, a shadowy figure could be seen rolling along the sand. Onniks' vision slowly faded to black.

...*nudge nudge*

..."...ey mi...er..."

...*nudge nudge nudge*

..."...ey! Hey Mister! You awake?"

Onniks once again tried to muster the strength to observe his surroundings, but not enough to respond to anything. He saw the red t-shirt kid next to him, followed by a dark humanoid shadow standing up. As the shadow began to move, a large purple creature with triangle-shaped eyes had jumped on it, as if it were trying to crush the shadow. By this time, the pain in Onniks' body had took full control. He closed his eyes for the last time as he finally fell unconscious.


	2. Awakening

Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes, into hours. And hours felt like days. The nightmare that was stuck in repeat in Onniks' memory wouldn't stop for anything. The constant reminder of the vicious visitor kept forcing his body to twist and turn in unbearable directions.

Then there were the flashbacks of the boy with the pink shield...

And the large purple beast...

Then the young swordfigting girl in training... "Connie".

But most of all... the dancing young woman. "Pearl". As the flashbacks of her replayed, Onniks' body would stop twitching and come to a stand-still. Those few memories of her were the only thing that kept him calm, even for a few moments.

Onniks finally opened his drowsy eyes. With his face embedded in a pillow soaked in sweat and torment, the first thing that caught his eyes was a familiar puffy-cheeked boy - the one with the shield.

" 'Bout time you woke up, mister!" said the boy smilingly. "You've been out for quite a while".

"...How long's 'a while'?" Onniks asked, slowly regaining his strength.

"About four days" the boy answered. "We weren't sure whether or not you'd make it after going through all that, but we still had to try, right!? By the way, I'm-"

An unexpected flashback emerged itself from Onniks' memories. 

("Now's not the time to play hero! How're you gonna protect Steven if you- UUUAAAGGGHH!" 

CRRAACCKK)

"...Steven" Onniks blurted.

"Well... Yeah, but - how did you know?" The boy - Steven - asked.

Onniks made a circular outline with the fingers on his right hand and tapped his forehead with them.

"P-...Pearl".

"Yeah - Pearl's so awesome and wonderful" Steven replied. "You should totally introduce yourself to her once you get up on your feet... Well - 'foot', actually".

"...'Foot'?" Onniks asked himself. Understandably oblivious to his surroundings, he sits up and looked over the bed he was resting on to find that a white cast had been wrapped around his injured right ankle. And, as usual with any other cast, it had been etched on with various designs and caricatures.

Onniks then scanned the room to get a better picture of his location: A huge, well-sized window to the left with a view of a small cliff out of it; in front of him, a small TV rests on the wooden floor with a video game console connected to it, with several cassette tapes on top of the TV; to his right, a larger room with a small kitchen area can be seen from below, implying that he was in a section of the house that was higher up from the rest; and finally, as he turned as far right as he could, he spots a staircase that connects the front room and the makeshift bedroom.

"Who put this cast on me?" Onniks asked.

"Oh - that woulda been Dr. Maheswaran" Steven answered.

"Who's that?".

"MA-HE-SWA-RAN" Steven replied while pointing at his cheeks during each syllable.

Seconds later, light echoed footsteps can be heard coming up the stairs from behind Onniks; it was Connie, nervously approaching.

"What Steven is trying to say" she intervened "is that my mother - Dr. Maheswaran - dressed the cast. She was attending a local concert here when that... thing... appeared. Once the situation was resolved, she rushed over to analyze the scene. Since you were the only one injured, it was just a matter of a quick fix with some emergency supplies she usually keeps in the car - as her way of saying 'Thanks', for - you know...".

Connie pauses for a second and begins to rub her left arm in nervousness.

"...And on that note - on behalf of myself, I would like to say 'Thank You' as well - for coming to help...".

Onniks blushes and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hehehe! Hey, don't worry about it!" Onniks confirmed.

However, through the hundred other questions Onniks had, there was one that he's been wanting to ask for a while.

"Wait, so... HOW, exactly, did I get 'here'? In this house?"

"Oh - Garnet carried you" Steven answered. "Wasn't too far from here where you fell unconscious".

"Who's Ga-" Onniks' question came to an abrupt halt.

"That - would be me".

As Onniks glanced over to the direction of the voice, that's when he noticed an above-average height woman with maroon-tinted skin: she had an hourglass build wearing a dark blue and dark violet outfit, a top with a red and pink star design, a cubic-style haircut, and a pair of uniquely shaped sunglasses. Despite her physique, she managed to leap over the edge of the upper room that Onniks was resting in remarkably unnoticed.

Behind her, a short, plump, high school-aged girl was struggling to climb up the ledge that Garnet effortlessly jumped over. She had a grape-colored skin tone, long, frizzly light gray hair, a pair of gray spandex pants with black stars in the knees, and a black tank top shirt - exposing a glassy, light purple crystal on her chest.

"W-well, Miss Garnet" Onniks addressed "Thank you - everyone, actually - for your hospitality. If there's anything I can do to return the favor - let me know. I'll do what I can".

"Well, now that you mention it" the purple teenager replied. "We charge fifteen hundred dollars a month per rent - not including internet and utilit-*thonk*-HEY!".

The girl's list of ridiculous demands were interrupted by a tap on her forehead from the back of Garnet's right hand. With the palm of her hand exposed, Onniks notice that there was a glassy red structure on it, with a triangular facet.

"Amethyst!" Garnet yelled, "You should know by now that we don't charge our fiends for anything - especially when they sacrifice their very life to protect someone without wanting anything in return".

Hearing that one word sent a piercing shock up Onniks' spine.

"....F...friend? I'm.... their friend?" he thought to himself.

"Yeah, yeah. I know" Amethyst replied, rubbing the bump that Garnet made on her forehead. "It was just a joke. Geez"

"*sigh*...Anyways" Garnet groaned, diverting her attention back towards Onniks. "First off - not 'Miss' - Just 'Garnet' will do. I DO, however, appreciate the formality"

Onniks replied with a simple nod and weakened smile in acknowledgement.

"But first thing's first" Garnet continued as she held out her right hand towards Onniks, implying that she's helping him get up "We need to get you outta that bed - your body most likely weakened since the last four days. Come - you need to get something to eat so you can get back into fighting shape".

Onniks smiles a little as he hoists himself up on his good foot with his left hand, using Garnet as a counter-balance. 

Steven recovers Onniks' crutches that were issued to him via Dr. Maheswaran from the head of the bed and hands them to him.

"Here you go!" Steven addressed. "You... might need these"

"Cool - thanks" Onniks replied, as he shouldered one of the crutches and put the other one under his right arm, continuing to take baby steps using Garnet's assistance as they pace themselves down the steps and onto the couch in the front room.

As Onniks nestles in the center of the couch, Connie and Steven sit on either side of him in that order, from left to right, and Amethyst sits on a stool next to the counter of the modest kitchen area, while Garnet was shifting things around in the fridge.

"So - what's your poison?" Garnet asked Onniks, who wasn't yet fully aware that he was being talked to.

"Wha- who, me?" Onniks replied.

"Yes, you" Garnet answered.

"Oh. Uhh... Something.... cold, please. I'm sweatin' like a roast pig at a luau".

Garnet shifts through the fridge some more and finds a twenty-ounce plastic soda bottle.

"...Mountain Mist, work?" she asked.

"My favorite!" Onniks answered happily.

She lightly throws the bottle in his lap and walks away from the fridge. As soon as Onniks cracks open the soda, a blue light flashes from the far left end of the room. As he glances over, he notices a thin-figured person standing on an unrecognizable blue platform The way the figure appeared - the platform acted like a warp pad of sorts. As he looked closer, he notices that the person's shoes look rather familiar, but their face was concealed by a laundry basket full of clothes.

"AMETHYST!" she screamed, nearly startling her off the stool. "How may times do I have to tell you: Only use one cap full of detergent when doing the laundry? One. Cap. Amethyst" she continued as she walked to the table in the front room, completely oblivious to Onniks' presence as she faced his direction, getting ready to slam the basket on the table.

Onniks immediately recognized her voice - there was no way he was going to forget the way Pearl sounds anytime soon. The only thing that threw him off was Pear's criticism over something rather... trivial.

"Well, I'm soooo sorry, P!" Amethyst replied. "I just wanted to make sure they were clean. Why - was it THAT bad?"

"Bad?" Pearl answered as she turned to her right towards Amethyst, still unaware of Onniks. "The laundry room was so full of suds, I was compelled to sing Christmas carols to it"

"Pffff-HAHAHAHA!" Amethyst laughed ans she banged her left hand against the counter she was sitting next to.

""It's not funny, Amethyst!" Pearl retorted. "I really wish you wouldn't be so *slam* wasteful"

The loud bang from the basket drew everyone's cringe-y attention towards Pearl, save for Onniks.

Struck by the confusion of the sudden change of expressions, Pearl shifted her attention between Amethyst and Garnet in an attempt to assess the situation.

"Wwwwwwha-wha-whawhat'ts going on?" Pearl asked dumbfoundedly.

Garnet and Amethyst timidly pointed to the basket. As Pearl glanced at it, she noticed that it wan't sitting on the table, but rather right on Onniks' cast. Further inspection had show that Onniks had stuffed his mouth with pillow from the couch that he was resting on, trying ever-so-hard not to scream in agony.

"*gasp* I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Pearl frantically apologized as she removed the basket off of Onniks' foot and placed it on the floor.

Despite the excruciating amount of pain and blood pressure coursing through his body, Onniks - for a brief moment - caught a glimpse of Pearl that one normally doesn't witness. Whether in was her sincerity or embarrassment or something entirely different - Onniks wasn't sure. But the one thing he WAS sure of, was that one thought that helped him relax the pain in his foot.

"She's so beautiful..."

Onniks quickly shakes off his infatuation and addresses Pearl.

"No-nonononono - look, see?" he tells her while tapping on his cast with both hands, still feeling minor piercing pains around his ankle. "It's alright! I'm fine - nothing to worry about!"

"Oh. O...kay...?" Pearl confirms, slightly baffled. "Well, if you insist..."

VVVVT-VVVVT

Connie sighed in disbelief as the cell phone in her pocket began ringing on silent mode.

"*ugh* That would be my mom" she frowned. "Sorry - but I gotta take this - she'd be furious if I didn't"

As Connie excuses herself and walks outside to answer her phone, Pearl assumes Connie's spot on the couch next to Onniks, at which point his cheeks begin to turn a light shade of pink from embarrassment.

"So... Onniks, was it?" Pearl asked him in an attempt to carry a conversation so that the awkward silence could be broken. "Are you sure you're alright? The crack in your gem looks painful - and I've seen cracked gems before. They're not too aesthetically appealing, are they - Amethyst?" she finalized while giving Amethyst a cold stare-down.

"Whaaaat" Amethyst replied. "It wasn't like I was actually trying to break it - it was an accident! I swear it!"

"I'll be fine" Onniks attempted to answer, still woozy from his four day slumber. "I can fix it, but that ability won't be active until-"

"....!"

A sudden shock of realization struck through his consciousness.

"Wait - how do you know about my gem?" he asked.

"Well - there are two answers to that, actually" Pearl answered. "The first was the obvious fact that a normal human wouldn't be able to just... conjure a ninjato from out of nothing"

Onniks meagerly nods in agreement.

Finished with her phone call, Connie quietly steps forward and addresses the second part of the explanation.

"And the other part was when my mother ran your vitals several days ago. She noticed that there was a cold spot on our chest that wasn't giving a pulse - when she lifted your shirt, that's when we noticed the black gem on your chest".

Connie then approached Pearl with a quick change in the subject.

"By the way - Pearl?"

"Mm-hm?"

"Is it okay if I stay here for a couple days? Mom said that the engine flooded in the car, and now it has to be sent to a mechanic".

"B-but I could fix-"

"*sigh* Yeah, I know. But mom says that the mechanic owes her for a prior hospital bill. He let his mechanical skills get the better of him by replacing the motor for a powered wheelchair with the engine of a muscle car. Almost worked like a charm - had wheelie bars and a parachute to slow him down".

"That's... obviously dangerous. But if he took the necessary precautions, then what's the problem?"

"The problem was that he forgot one key item: The seat belt"

"*gasp* Oh, dear..."

"I know. He ended up breaking both legs and half an arm"

"Wait - how do you break half an arm?"

"Got me. I'm still trying to figure that out, and this was about a year and a half ago".

"*sigh* I see... Of course you can stay - you know you're always welcome here. We really do enjoy your company"

"REALLY!? Aww, sweet! You're too awesome, Pearl!"

Steven jumps on the couch and hops on the cushion in excitement.

"You're the best, Pearl! Thank you! Thank you than you thank you!"

"Hmhmhmh... It's alright - settle down" Pearl spoke to the rambunctious kids.

As Pearl stands up from the couch, she approaches the kitchen, getting ready to prepare a small meal.

"Well - it's almost lunch time. Connie - please call your mom and let her know you'll be staying here"

"Yes ma'am!" Connie replies, as she and Steven escape out the front door.

"And you" Pearl spoke to Onniks, "You're gonna eat as well. You're completely out of energy, and I don't want you passing out when you're explaining your story"

"Yes, ma'm - of course" Onniks tiredly replies, as he finally gets the opportunity to enjoy the lukewarm soda offered to him earlier.


	3. Recovery

The lunch that Pearl made for the children wasn't anything fancy: Macaroni and cheese for the main, and baked fries on the side - they were kids, so they didn't need anything extravagant, just enough to make them satisfied until dinner. However, as Pearl remembered, Onniks' meal needed to be more complex, as he needed to recover a lot of energy that he expended while he was unconscious: A large piece of baked boneless chicken, with peas-and-corn mixture and mashed potatoes on the side.

Onniks took his time consuming the meal for several reasons: Partly because he didn't want to make himself sick after not eating anything in so long, and partly because he wasn't sure what he was going to say for the explanation that Pearl required. One thing was certain, however: The primary reason for Onniks' procrastination? He was thoroughly enjoying Pearls delicious meal that she worked hard on making.

As about fifteen minutes pass by as Onniks finished his lunch, everyone in the house encircled Onniks, waiting in anticipation the hear his side of the story; Garnet was first to initiate the conversation.

"Alright - out with it" she spoke to Onniks. "Start form the beginning"

"*sigh* Alright. Here goes." he replied. "...In the beginning, every single ounce of matter in the universe was condensed into a super-compressed atom - the initial singularity, if you will-"

"Woahwoahwoah" Amethyst interrupted. "That's a little TOO far back. Why don't we fast forward this a few eons, okay?"

"Amethyst is right" Pearl confirmed. "As much as I'd love to discuss theoretical science - there's other pressing matters to address...How about this" she continued as she clasped her hands together with her index fingers extended, as if she was in deep thought "...Tell us what it was that made you decide to come to Beach City in the first place"

The name "Beach City" triggered a brief flashback from Onniks - a memory of the paper he found before he came to this town. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out the hastily scrawled picture and hands it to Pearl.

"I found this picture a couple towns over sometime last week. After an extensive search on Boggle, I came across a basic-looking website with images of the lighthouse and the green hand you see on that pic I just gave you. Website was called something like "Keep Beach City Weird" or something. With me being a weird person myself - what with my gem and all - I figured I'd be able to find even a slight clue as to why I am the way I am here".

As Pearl shows the picture to Garnet and Amethyst for further inspection, the two girls approach to get a closer look.

"That's definitely the lighthouse" Pearl responds as she points at the picture.

"The space ship as well" Garnet adds.

"What's that yellow square thingy? Is that s'posed to be... Peridot?" Amethyst asked.

"...No doubt about it" Garnet confirms as she adjusts her oddly designed sunglasses.

Peridot. That was a name obviously unfamiliar to Onniks, given his short time in town.

"Excuse, me, uhh... what's a 'Peridot'?" he inquired.

"Pffft - Peridot's not a 'what', she's a 'who' " Amethyst answered.

"Amethyst is correct" said Garnet. "Peridot is a gem - similar to us. The difference with her is that she's small. And green. And triangular. And annoying..."

"What Garnet is trying to say" Pearl butted in, "Is that Peridot is... 'unique'... in her own obnoxious way"

"...I take it there's more of these gems than what's in this house?" Onniks asked.

"A lot more" Garnet answered. "Some - such as myself and Pearl come from Homeworld, while others come from here on Earth, such as Amethyst".

"Homeworld?" Onniks asked. "You're telling me there's an entire planet that's made of pure gemstones?"

"To put it simply... yes" Garnet replied.

"*sigh*... Can we please change the subject?" Pearl asked miserably. "The last thing I want is to be reminded of... Homeworld"

The tension in the air begins to thicken as memories of the past - of Homeworld - start flooding the minds of Pearl and Garnet. 

As the stale aura of silence grows, Garnet immediately diverts it with a change in the current subject.

"At any rate - there's just too much about our history to cover in one day. We'll cover what we can once we get there - for now let's just relax for the time being while you recover"

"Man... stuck on recovery for the time being" Onniks complained. "Least I got my guitar to practice on"

"Uhhh... what guitar, bro?" Amethyst questioned.

A sense of confusion filled Onniks' thoughts. He reached behind his head and on a small ledge behind him - only to feel nothing but empty space.

"My guitar... Where in the world is it?" he asked.

"From what I can recall, you didn't show up with one" spoke Pearl.

Another flashback ran through Onniks' eyes - from when he first entered town, then the lighthouse, and when he was knocked back by Meddio's crash landing. That's when it clicked.

"The bush..." he replied.

"Bush? What bush?" asked Pearl.

"The bush by the lighthouse" he answered. "I specifically remember stashing my case in it right before I confronted Meddio"

Immediately, Steven stands up and makes an announcement.

"Don't worry - I'll go get it! Since it's not far from here, I'll be back in a jiffy!"

"Really? Aw, sweet! Thanks!" Onniks' praised

"No problem! Be right back!" Steven replied as he bolted for the front door.

""Hey! Wait for me!" Connie added as she stood up and chased Steven outside.

A couple minutes pass by in silence as everyone sits idly by waiting for Steven and Connie's return. As Onniks' leans back on the couch staring at the ceiling, he's reminded of a quick scene of when he fell unconscious during his fight with Meddio. As he reflected on it - he suddenly realized a small detail regarding the fight.

"...Now that I think about it - I DO have one question about the fight from several days ago" said Onniks as he continued to look at the ceiling, addressing anyone willing to reply.

"Sure, man - what's up?" Amethyst asked.

"It's about Meddio" Onniks spoke, as the memories of the final seconds of consciousness ran though his mind. "...What ever happened to him?"

"We were able to destroy his exoskeletal armor into pieces" Garnet answered. However, his ethereal body escaped into the wind, and took the remains of his armor with him. He'll come back, no doubt - just not sure when"

Hearing the word 'disintegrated' quickly reminded Onniks of HOW he was disintegrated.

"That reminds me" he spoke to Garnet "What was that huge purple creature that crushed him? The one with the triangular shades" he continued as he made the outline of the glasses with his fingers around his eyes.

"You mean Sugilite?" she asked.

"Sugi-who-what?"

"Su - gi - lite. She is what appears when Amethyst and I undergo fusion"

"Fus - fusion?" he asked. "As in when two gems become one whole new one?" 

"Precisely. Oh - and just for future references - I myself am a fusion as well: I'm a fusion of Sapphire" she explains and she exposes the palm of her right hand, showing a red gem with an equilateral triangle face, "And Ruby" she continues as she - this time - shows her left palm, bearing a gem of the same color, but with a square face.

Onniks was thoroughly impressed by this unexpected information.

"Man, that is way beyond cool!" he exclaimed.

"Actually, Sapphire is cool, seeing as how she has ice-type abilities. And Ruby would be fire"

"Aw, nice! Any chance I'll be able to meet them?" he asked.

"Heh - we'll see" she responds jokingly as she kicks her feet on the table. "But only if you've been a good boy"

Several moments pass by, and Steven and Connie bust through the door, with Steven carrying a black elongated case by the handle.

"Heh heh heh! Hey Onniks, check it out - we found it!" Steven spoke excitedly as he walked to the table and placed the case on the table.

*zzzziiiip* "Aww, yeah! Come to papa!" Onniks replied. 

It was a basic looking guitar, similar to one that a novice player would use in a local garage band - possessing a pure black body with a chrome pick guard. But as he inspected it further, a somber expression fell upon him.

"...Aaaaand all the strings are broke. Sadface."

Despite the fact that the case was sturdy enough to prevent the guitar from completely breaking, al the strings have been severed; lacerations form the flailing strings while being banged around form the inside had etched the body with several nicks and cuts.

As Pearl observes the damaged guitar, she leans back in her chair and contemplates something in deep thought. After a few moments, an idea had struck.

"Actually... I think I can fix this" she replied.

"Wai-what? Really?" Onniks asked as a glint of hope had shown.

"Mm-hmm" she answered. "See - back about 600 years ago, we were on a mission to investigate a Gem-devouring monster in an abandoned mine on a planet in the Cassiopeia star system. Well, when we went inside, there were these hordes of small angry critters just everywhere. As we cleared them out, we hit the end of the mine, but 'lo and behold - no Gem monster. When the owner of the mine caught up to us, he admitted that there WAS no monster, and that he just wanted to use us for a cheap clean-up crew to clear out the small vermin in the mine. However, I noticed at the end of the mine this really huge rare metal ore about twice the size of our kitchen still embedded in the wall. As soon as I seen it - made the owner an offer he couldn't refuse: Either give us the ore as reimbursement for our services, or have his underwear stretched over his head and paraded through the town"

"Umm - yeah, P? As reminiscing as all this sounds" a bored Amethyst replied sarcastically, "...What does all this have to do with fixing his guitar?" she asked.

"Well, if you would've just waited a second, Amethyst" Pearl answered sternly "I was gonna say that I could use slivers of the ore to replace the strings"

"You couldn't have just said that from the start?"

"Oh, hush! You know I like telling stories"

"*sigh* Yeah, unfortunately"

"Hmph! Anyways - let me see the guitar for a second" Pearl requested.

Onniks gently passes her the guitar, and she gives it another glance.

"Yes, yes. I can definitely fix this! It'll take a while, but it's doable"

Pearl then scurries of onto the warp pad and disappears in a light blue light in an instant.

What should have been 'just a while' took way longer than expected - so long, that Garnet ended up making dinner for everyone, save for herself and Pearl, since they don't eat. Wasn't anything extravagant compared to Pearl - just a couple of large pizzas - one for Steven and Connie to split, and another for Onniks and Amethyst (the only Gem that WILL eat anything). Garnet wasn't a hardcore health and nutrition nut like Pearl. The only thing she cared about was that everyone was happy about the food. 

With the aroma of pepperoni and baked crust lingering in the air, Pearl teleports back to the living room and relinquished Onniks' guitar back to him. Knowing his guitar like the back of his hand, he immediately notices two distinct changes to it.

The first was that the damage to the body had been fixed, with a fresh layer of black paint on it.

The second was a knob right below the strings on the body, though he was unsure why.

"Awesome! Thanks, Pearl!" Onniks thanked her. "I can't believe you went out of you way to do all this for me"

"What? No-" Pearl corrected. "I did it more for the instrument"

"Oh. I see..." Onniks replied with a hint of sadness.

*tink* - *cough* As Onniks tried to muffle the sound.

This caught the attention of Pearl and Amethyst, but left Garnet with a skeptical "Hmmm..."

"Wwwwhat was that?" Amethyst asked.

"What was what?" Onniks replied.

"It sounded like someone threw a pebble at a window" Amethyst spoke.

"Or a glass-like object shattering..." countered Garnet.

Several seconds of awkward silence fills the area. Onniks then addresses Pearl about the guitar.

"So, what changes DID you make to my guitar?"

"Allow me to elaborate" replied Pearl.

"First, I sanded down the body and applied a fresh coat of paint - because obviously beautiful music should only be played on a beautiful instrument"

"Okay, yeah - I can definitely see your point on that. Please - continue"

"Next were the strings. I had already created a tool beforehand that allows me to scrape several long slivers from the ore and reform them into the necessary design for instruments"

"Yes - the string ARE a nice addition - especially for instruments that require them" Onniks smiled, while everyone - save for Pearl - chuckled in the background.

Pearl couldn't help but to stare at him coldly.

"Anyways" she continued "Since I remembered what kind of metal I was working with for the strings, I figured I'd add a special selector that changes the tune of the sound"

"Change the tune of the sound? Is that even possible on a guitar?"

"Of course it is! I've modified my violin to do the same thing. However, I've never heard it on a guitar before. Since it's your instrument, you should be the one to test it"

"Can do. One sec." he states as he opens the front of his case and pulls out a coiled cord and a miniature speaker-like object.

"Pocket amp, for the win" he says as he connects the amp to the guitar with the cord.

As he slides his right thumb across the strings, he notices that the strings were already tuned - no adjustment was necessary. After a quick riff from the guitar, he concluded that this was the normal sound - the staticy electric tone travelling through the air.

"Now rotate the new dial a quarter turn clockwise" Pearl responded.

Onniks complied, then repeated the same riff.

The sound that came from it was nothing short of a dream. the quality of the sound was crystal clear and clean. It had the mixture of an electric keyboard combined to what sounded like a professional Mezzo-soprano opera singer.

"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat - that was the cleanest sound I ever heard that thing make..." Onniks replied in shock.

Pearl stands up and stretches with a yawn, then finishes her conversation with Onniks.

"...Anyways - you can pay me back later. I've no need for money, but I'll find a way for you to work it off. Right now, I'm going to bed - see you all later"

After her final words, she returns to the warp pad and disappears for the rest of the night.

Onniks then stretches out his legs on the table and closes his eyes to get some sleep as well.

"...Probably make me drink some disgusting 'health' drink or something" he thought to himself.


	4. Nuicances

"This guy better appreciate all the work I had to go through to get this..."

*pinch*

\----------------

Onniks groggily wakes up in the middle of the day - something he normally doesn't do. With his guitar still on his lap, he barely notices Garnet and Amethyst looking at him - Garnet, with a camcorder, and Amethyst with a cell phone.

"Aww, you look so adorable when you're sleep-jamming with your guitar!" Garnet joked.

"Yeah, man! You were all like 'Bowwwowowow - Thank you everyone! Good night!' " Amethyst added.

"Tch - man, whatever" Onniks replied tiredly. He then stands up and walks over to the fridge and peeks inside.

"Is there any of that Mountain Mist left?" he asked. "I'm dying of lack of caffeine, here"

The Gems couldn't answer him - they were left utterly speechless.

"Dude. Onniks..." replied Amethyst. "You're walking!"

"Uhh... yeah... I know" Onniks sarcastically retorted, sill unaware of the situation. I AM a bipedal creature, after all".

Garnet places the camcorder down on the kitchen counter, grabs Onniks by the shoulder and spins him around to face her, ever so lightly tapping him in the cheek.

"You're walking - on your CAST, genius!" Garnet spoke.

*tap tap* Onniks lightly bangs his foot on the ground.

"...Huh. guess I am...

.......!

Oh my stars - I'm walking on my cast!"

"That's what we've been trying to tell you!" Amethyst responded.

"Here - let's get that thing off you" Garnet replied. She then grabs the sides of the cast and rips it off. "How's it, now?" she asked.

Onniks carefully slides his foot out of the remainder of the cast and tries to bend at his ankles. However, some resistance still persists.

"Well, it doesn't hurt" he answered. "But my foot's still stiff - obviously, that's to be expected, though, after not using if after a while. It'll take some time to stretch the muscles back out"

Suddenly, a green blur jumps from the upper part of the living room and approaches the three.

"About time the half-clod woke up" she spoke. "I've been waiting impatiently for hours wondering if the injection worked"

Onniks, slowly coming to, remembered what Garnet said about a gem named 'Peridot'.

"Small? Check. Green? Check. Triangular? Check..."

"Is there a point to this, or are you just going to bore me all day?" the girl asked.

"Annoying? Double check" Onniks continued. He then cups his hand near his mouth, holding an imaginary walkie-talkie. "Beach City, uhh.. We have a Peridot"

A moment later, the warp pad activates, and Pearl hops off it.

"What in the world is all this commotion-" Pearl immediately pauses as she notices Onniks finally standing up. She then quickly approaches him to check his condition.

"Oh, good! you're finally out of the cast! How's progress going?" she asked.

"Slow" he answered. "Can't expect much after just being out of the cast for 2 and a half minutes"

"Well, you have a point, there" she responds. "By the way, where's Peridot? If you're on your feet again, then that must mean that she's returned with the injection"

Onniks picks up Peridot by her shirt collar, surprisingly light as she is, and show her to Pearl.

"You mean Sass Master, here?" he asked.

"Put me down this instant, you half-clod!" Peridot snarled, while swinging a flurry of kicks and punches.

"Half-clod?" he asked. "What does that eve-"

*bop*

Through Peridot's erratic punches, she accidentally landed a right fist on Onniks' mouth. The connection didn't break skin, but sure surprised him, along with the other Gems as well.

A momentary pause fell on everyone, similar to looking at a photograph.

"Y'know, it's this kind of attitude that's the reason you keep getting lumps of coal in your stocking for Christmas. Now maybe - just MAYBE - if you're good enough this year, you can get a white lump" Onniks replied. "Now - off to bed with you"

Peridot was completely baffled.

"What?" she asked. "What in the world are- WAAAaaahhhh!"

Before Peridot finished, Onniks gave her a hefty toss from her collar towards the warp pad. But unknown to everyone, Steven appeared on it with Connie next to him before she landed.

"Hey guys! Check out what we foooooOOOOOOWWW-"

THUD-D-D-D-D

Before Steven could finish being excited, Peridot collided into him and tumbled over each other off the warp pad. Suddenly, a white flash surrounded them, then something completely unexpected occurred.

There, she sat on the floor, appearing similar to Steven, sharing his same skin tone and wardrobe, however with a few differences. The first being that she was roughly twice his height. She had long, wavy blond hair and a visor that was half pink over her right eye, and green over her left. However the most notable difference was the thin glassy rectangular object on her forehead, which stretched the length of the center of each eye, color coordinated to her visor.

As she stands up, she notices everyone staring at her in utter shock. She walks to the center of the living room and closes her eyes, then starts jogging in place really fast, as if she's trying to dance excitedly.

"...hehehehahaha-AAAAHAHAHAHA! I'M TALL AGAIN! WHOOOOO!" she yelled as she strikes a victory pose with her fists in the air. Then - without hesitation, she sprints out the front door and leaps off the porch, continuing her sprint towards the city.

Garnet places a hand on Onniks' shoulder.

"Congratulations" she states with a grin. "That stunt just put you an extra point closer into getting the chance to meet Ruby and Sapphire - well done!"

To which Onniks only replied with a satisfactory smile.

"Aww, man! Today is gonna be awesome!" Amethyst eagerly replies as she jumps off the porch and chases the new girl down the beach, not noticing the man coming up the steps.

He was a balding, middle-aged Caucasian man, donning a cheesy gray business suit and a heart-shaped container is his left arm.

Pearl immediately recognized him and began trembling in fear.

"Noooonononono - Onniks, please - you HAVE to get rid of him!" Pearl desperately pleaded.

"Why? What's the deal with the old-timer?" he asked.

"That's Mayor Dewey" she answered. "He keeps thinking were a... *shudders* thing, and I keep telling him that I have zero interest in him whatsoever, but he adamantly refuses to listen! Please - help me on this!"

Onniks could clearly see how genuine Pearl was being when she spoke of this.

"...Alright. Gimme a couple minutes - I'll be right back"

Onniks then approaches the door and opens it ever so slightly to confront the man.

"....'Sup?' Onniks replied.

The mayor was caught completely off-guard by the new face taking residence at the house.

"*ahem* Yes, well - I'm looking for Pearl, my bride-to-be. Is she here?" he asked.

"Bride-to-be?" Onniks thought to himself.

*ka-teenk* - *COUGH* "Sorry. Excuse me, it's my allergies" Onniks apologized.

"Oh, I'm... sorry to hear that" replied the mayor. "...May I ask what the allergies are?" he asked.

"Yeah, uhh.. *sniffle* I'm allergic to nonsense" Onniks answered.

Garnet and Pearl chuckled in the background; Garnet's laugh overpowering Pearl's. Onniks, being closer, was the only one to hear Pearl's light chuckle, which somehow made him feel better - the pain in his chest resided, and his aching foot had been settled.

The mayor looked at Onniks coldly.

"But really - where is she? I need to talk to her" the mayor spoke.

"Sorry - she's been evicted. She no longer lives here" Onniks replied.

"What!? You can't be serious..."

"Of course I am - how else would that explain my presence here?"

"Well, if this is true, then I don't suppose you'd mind showing me the eviction notice then?

"Sure - no problem. Just gimme a minute to draw it out..."

With that, Onniks retreats back into the kitchen area and locates a blank piece of printing paper and a black marker. Pearl - who is now hiding in a floor cupboard - whispers to Onniks about the situation.

"Hey! what's going on out there" she asked.

"Just a few more minutes" he answered. "Gotta write out an eviction notice. As far as he knows - you don't live here anymore"

As soon as he finished, he shown the note to Garnet and Pearl - who barely saw it. It was hastily scribbled and deliberately misspelled, and read as:

"EVICSHUN NOTUS

FOUR PURL"

In the lower right hand corner of the paper was a shoddy-looking smiley face with the words "SEEL OF APRUVOL"

Both Garnet and Pearl tried their hardest from bursting into tears laughing out loud.

Onniks then returns to the mayor and hands him the note. As he reads it, he questions its legitimacy.

"Surely, you don't expect me to believe this..."

"Of course I do. See? - There's even a 'Seal of Approval' at the bottom"

The mayor then crumples up the paper and tosses it back inside the house, completely unimpressed.

"Please get Pearl" the Mayor spoke. "I'm not gonna ask again..."

As Pearl heard those words, she crawled out from the cupboards, lightly pushes Onniks to her left and angrily addressed the mayor.

"Alright - you now what" Pearl criticized. "This has gone on for WAY too long. I. Don't. Love. You. At all. I'm actually beginning to despise you - after how persistent you've been"

"Yeah, man. Clearly she's not interested" Onniks agreed. "So just go back home and forget that this... 'thing' even happened".

"Now, listen here, young man" the mayor spoke. "Until Pearl recognizes my love for her, I'm going to stand on this porch and I'm never gonna leave"

"Oh, yes you will" Onniks responds.

In an instant, Onniks channels his signature spiral in his left arm and emits a thin black rod from his palm. He then stabs the ground where the mayor is standing and creates a familiar black portal under him, completely engulfing him as the mayor fell in it. In the distance, another portal can be seen hovering over the ocean, and spits the mayor into it.

As Onniks stares at the mayor floating in the ocean, completely soaked in saltwater and shame, Pearl stands behind Onniks and stares in contempt.

"Yeah, so... Remember when I said you'd have to pay me back for the guitar?" she asked.

"Yep" Onniks answered simply.

"...Consider us even". she replied as she walks away into the house.

"...Cool" Onniks says as he enters the house as well, shutting the door behind him.

About ten minutes pass by as Onniks, Pearl, Garnet and Connie take their time relaxing as they wait for Amethyst's return. 

Pearl sitting on one end of the couch working on solving a crossword puzzle.

Connie laying on the bed in the upper room watching TV.

Onniks sitting on the other end of the couch away from Pearl practicing on his guitar, covering a famous classic rock song.

And Garnet in a chair right next to Onniks merely enjoying the melody.

"...Amethyst's been gone for a while" spoke Pearl, breaking the silence. "Wonder what's taking her so long?"

"Don't worry" Garnet replied. "I'm sure they'll be back soon enough"

"Yeah, but... HOW soon?"

"Hmm... 3... 2...1..."

The front door then swings open, and the girl from earlier gets thrown in the house by Amethyst's whip, with Amethyst herself following.

"...So, I passed the mayor on the way here" said Amethyst. "Guy was covered from head to toe in seaweed and sadness - what was that about?"

"...Idiot wouldn't leave Pearl alone as some one-sided love interest" answered Onniks. "And since he refused to leave, I decided to drop him off myself"

Amethyst thought about that for a second.

"....Awwhahahaw - nice!"

"And what about the girl, here? She have a name?" Onniks asked.

"I only heard it once, but it was hard for me to make out... Toma... something"

Pearl looked at the gem on her forehead and analyzed its structure and color scheme.

"...From my hypothesis, I'd say... Tourmaline, correct?"

"That... actually sounds about right" Amethyst confirmed.

"So what exactly took so long in capturing her?"

"Well, first I started chasing her around town for fun" Amethyst answered, "But I chased her for so long that when she ran up some walls, I had forgotten that I coulda just used my whip to catch her"

"Wait - ran UP walls?" Pearl questioned. "I thought she couldn't do that without her limb enhancers?"

"Pssh - what, are you kiddin'?" Tourmaline replied. "I was always able to do that - the limb enhancers just let me climb them faster"

Connie then peeks over from the upper room to have her say in the matter.

"Well, limb enhancers or not - you can't just force Steven to be tied up like this!"

"...What are you talking about, girlie?" Tourmaline asked.

"I'm... I'm talking about fusion! Steven's not supposed to do it with you - he's supposed to do it with me!" Connie angrily replied.

"....Yeah, I'm not touching this one" spoke Onniks.

"For starters, missy" Tourmaline replied. "It's not up to you to tell Steven what he can and can't do - he can do it with anybody he wants - it's HIS choice, after all"

"...And I'M not touching THAT one" Garnet added.

"And secondly - G-g-g-grrr" before Tourmaline could finish, she clenched her head, as if she was having an internal struggle. Several seconds later, a white silhouette started projecting out of her. As the silhouette began displaying various blotches of color, the colors then would start taking a more detailed form. It soon became apparent that it was Steven trying to unfuse. After several moments, he successfully separates from Tourmaline, reverting back to himself and Peridot once again.

Steven gets up and approaches Peridot, sitting next to her trying to explain his point of view.

"Peridot, please - listen. As much as I like being Tourmaline with you, you just can't keep holding onto someone like that when the other person wants to let go - it's not fair to them. In order for something like this to work, there has to be compromise. But if only one wants something but the other doesn't, then that's going to spell nothing but disaster"

Meanwhile, hidden away on the roof of the house, a half-drenched Mayor Dewey sits - listening to every one of Steven's words.

"*sigh*... Sad thing is - the kid's right. About everything"

The mayor quietly gets up and silently climbs off the roof and onto the cliff beside the house.

"I hope you live a good life, Pearl" he thinks to himself. "You definitely deserve it" he finishes as he walks home in defeat.

Back inside the house, Peridot begins to try to justify her actions.

"It's just that... Ever since I lost my limb enhancers, I've felt... small. Inferior. But the whole time being Tourmaline - all of that disappeared. It felt good - being the way I used to be, even if it was temporary. I just... wanted to hold onto that... just a little longer..."

"Hey, don't worry about it, alright?" Steven replied. "I completely understand why you did it, just... Next time you feel like that? Just ask me next time, and I'll help you out"

As Steven stands back up, he reaches out to assist Peridot

"Thanks, Steven. And... I'm sorry... about today...." she apologized.

"Don't sweat it! C'mon - let's get some sleep, alright? We did have a big day, after all!"

As Steven, Peridot and Connie all crunch together trying to fit on the same small bed, Amethyst, while moping around the living room out of boredom, spots the paper ball Mayor Dewey crumpled and tossed. As she reads it, she gets the surprise of a lifetime.

"WHAT!? No way! Pearl - you're getting evicted!?" Amethyst replied in horror.

However, on the other side of the room, three hands slapping three faces can be heard in unison.


	5. Water Training

As a new day began, the sounds of flowing water, the rustling of the trees and chirping birds rank through Onniks' mind. The echoes of nature with the cool breeze postponed his will to wake - it was way too relaxing for him to want to. However, the motivation to wake up was hastened by repeated nudges on his foot. As he glanced over by his foot, he noticed that it was Garnet trying to wake him.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" she said.

As he leaned up, he slowly refocused his vision, and that's when he started putting two-and-two together:

The flowing water, and the rustling trees...

The chirping birds, and the calming breeze...

It wasn't a dream at all - he and Garnet weren't even in the house by the beach - they were outside in what seemed to be a small forest. Onniks quickly stands up and confronts her about the situation.

"What in the world, Garnet!? Did you just carry me somewhere without me knowing?"

"Eeeeyup!" she answered, with a grin on her face and her arms crossed her chest.

"Couldn't you just give me a warning next time?

"Nnnnope! Your reactions are just too priceless"

"*sigh* Alright. What are we doing here, anyways?

"Training. With Meddio still out there somewhere, we can't afford to let our guard down. And since you're the one that was on recovery the longest, you need to get back to your topmost condition as soon as possible"

"Okay. You do have a point. But what kind of training will there be?"

"Come. I'll tell you when we get there"

"Hoo-boy..."

Onniks follows Garnet upstream of the trickling flow of the water for several minutes, then arrive at a small cliff with a modest waterfall and a shallow pool under it - about one hundred feet in diameter, with roughly a foot deep of water; a grainy white surface can be seen under the water. On the side of the pool rested four sets of padded weights that appeared to double in size with velcro straps, with the lightest appearing set to be about one pound.

"Now - stand by the weights and take off your shoes and socks" Garnet ordered. "It'll be less restricting without them"

Onniks complies. He takes off his footwear and places them away from the water.

"If I'm to be less restricted" he thought to himself. "then I need to get as comfortable as possible"

He unties the strings around the ankles of his pants and unzips the zippers that connects the halves of his pant legs to convert them into a pair of shorts and sets the bottom half of the pant legs aside.

"Good" Garnet replied. "Let's begin with some stretches. The pain in your foot may have subsided, but without proper exercise and stretching, you're gonna remain as stiff as a board"

As he kneeled down, he noticed that his left foot bent normally, but the heel of his right foot wouldn't touch the ground.

"Just as I suspected" Garnet confirmed. "Muscles still tight. Don't be afraid to fight the resistance to stretch your muscles out, but don't force it - you might tear your muscle, and just take even longer to recover"

Onniks heeds her advice and slowly paces himself stretching out. The moment he felt resistance, he relaxed his foot and stretched again. He repeated this process for several minutes until his foot had been completely recovered - he was able to hop up and down with no struggle whatsoever.

"Good - seems you're good to go" Garnet acknowledged. "Let's start with the basics - strap on the lightest weights and meet me in the water"

He obeys the order and equips the weights (which were only one pound) and stands next to her in the water on the grainy platform.

"Now, before we begin" Garnet asks "Do you have any questions?"

"Just one" Onniks replied. "Exactly what kind of training will we be going through?"

"For now, just conditioning through resistance and basic combat maneuvers - we don't have the time to cover everything. Your endurance and reflexes will increase on their own. But for now, let's start with something easy - some water movement exercises to understand HOW this particular training works. Granted - it's gonna be repetitive, tedious, and boring - but you're not gonna make progress if you don't adapt. You'll see what I mean."

She then points to a spot behind her and to the right.

"Stand right about here - that way you can keep an eye on what I do and not run into me on accident"

Onniks complies and takes position where Garnet directed.

"Good. Now, jog up to my position"

As Garnet slushes through the water about thirty-five feet, Onniks makes the observation that she didn't seem to slow down any - it was obvious that she's used to this type of training.

As Onniks follows along. it took him a little longer to move through the water than he realized. 

"Now - push backwards" she continued, "and alternate your feet when you do: Push back with one leg, stop, then push back with the other. Keep going until you're back where you started"

Onniks follows her command. First, he pushes back with his left foot, moving slower than he realized, then pushed back with his right. Left. Right. Left. Right. He kept repeating until he was back where he started.

"Alright" Garnet replied. "Now, let's make this a bit simpler: First, strafe to the left, with one foot in front of the other - alternating the front foot each step, then return. Then, do the same thing, except strafing to the right next time"

Those instructions weren't what Onniks would call 'simpler', however he developed a thinking pattern to help him: 'Right foot front, right foot behind'. He repeated this thinking process in his mind with each step he took from start to finish. Once he stopped, he stood by waiting for Garnet's nest instructions.

"Now" she added, "repeat those movements three more times. By then, your body should already have been adapted to the weights and resistance"

Without question, Onniks proceeds as instructed.

*jog jog jog* (splash splash splash)

*push push push* (swoosh swoosh swoosh)

*strafe strafe strafe* (swish swish swish)

"Now, how do you feel?" Garnet asked. "Any noticeable changes?"

"Well, now that you mention it" Onniks answered "I do feel a little lighter then when I first started"

"Good - just what I had expected" Garnet replied. "Now - hop on out real quick and switch to the next set of weights, then back in the pool"

Onniks was pondering what the next segment consisted of, but still didn't hesitate to comply. Out of the pool he went, equipped the next set of weights, and back into the pool he went.

"Keep away from the edge of the pool for a second" Garnet said. "I'm going to lower it a bit to increase the water pressure"

Onniks acknowledges and steps away from the edge a bit while Garnet walks behind the waterfall and slightly pulls a lever that went unnoticed. Onniks felt a sudden jerk tug from beneath his feet; the pool - save for about a foot away from the edge - slowly dropped, and the new water depth was about three feet.

Garnet jumps in the pool wearing a pair of sparring pads on her hands.

"This part of the training will consist of the basics of combat" Garnet said. "We're gonna go over form and technique while being burdened by weight and resistance"

Garnet then holds the sparring pads at shoulder level.

"For now, assume a basic fighting stance - it doesn't need to be perfect, but at least keep your hands up guarding your head"

Onniks follows her orders and holds his fists up in front of his face.

"For now, let's not worry about power" Garnet continues, "let's concentrate on form. The first thing to remember is that whether you're punching or kicking, the majority of that strength and control comes from your hips - your core. Let's try a couple punches"

Onniks heeds her advice and throws a light one-two combo. However, he underestimated both the weights on his wrists and the fatigue from the session earlier.

"I know you're worn out form earlier" Garnet replied. "But you must adapt and overcome your setbacks if you want to progress"

Onniks nods his head in agreement.

"Right - I can do this" he said. "I have to, if I'm gonna improve"

"That's what I like to hear" Garnet responded. "Gimme that good ol' 'college try' once more"

Onniks, feeling that sense of motivation, throws another one-two combo, but with a bit more fire behind it

*thu-thud*

"That's the ol' pepper!" Garnet said. "Gimme another combo, with an elbow afterwards"

*thu-thud smack*

"Good! Now the other elbow"

*whack whack bash*

"Now, for something a little more difficult"

Garnet then holds her left pad down by her waist perpendicular to her body.

"Kick the pad with the top of your foot - and don't forget to account for water and weight resistance"

Onniks moves his foot around in the water to estimate how much force he'd need to connect. Ater a couple back-and-forth motions, he brings his foot out of the water.

*Thud!*

"There you go!" Garnet relied. "Now you seem to be getting the hang of it"

She then holds the pads with her arms crossed her chest, and the pads facing the outside.

"Now - try kicking these" she continued. "Remember to keep the toes of the foot you're balancing on away from the target, and pivot on the ball of your foot with your heel up so that way you don't twist your ankle"

These instructions were a tiny bit more complex than last time, but Onniks assumed that with the right thought process, he'd be able to accomplish this task.

"Okay, so" he thought to him self, "pivot on the balancing foot, then kick with the other.

Pivot, then kick...

Pivot, then kick...

Pivot, then *KICK* - "

*smack*

Onniks connects with the pad, but he only managed to clip the bottom of it.

"You're a fast learner" Garnet complimented, "but I know you can do better. Once more"

Onniks mimics the motions of the pivot/kick maneuver several more times, but this time compensates for resistance.

"Pivot, then kick...

Pivot, then - *thud* kick"

Onniks' kick was successful this time.

"Excellent" Garnet replied. "Now, the other foot"

*swish* *thud*

"Now alternate feet"

Onniks nod in agreement, then proceeds to follow the instruction. First, the right foot, then the left. Then right, then left again.

With each passing kick, Onniks begins to notice - his limbs... his entire body... are starting to feel lighter, and faster.

"Good" Garnet replied. "Now for something slightly different"

She then rotates the pads so they sit on the back of her hands, leaving her palms exposed, then places the pads in front of her, with her left hand in front of her abdomen, and her right in front of her chest.

"Now" she continued, "using the same pivot technique, hit the lower pad with the heel of your foot"

Onniks obliges. Balancing on his left foot, he delivers a direct hit on the lower pad.

"Good. Now the upper one" Garnet signals with her right hand.

This one took a little more stretching than anticipated, but Onniks was still able to connect to it.

"Lower" she instructs. *thud*

"Upper" *thud"

"Lower, again" *thud

"Upper, once more" *thud*

"Now - double"

"Double?" Onniks asked.

"Yes. Target the lower one first, then the upper - but you must hit both targets without placing your foot on the ground"

"Understood" he responds.

*thu-thud*

"Good. Now - switch feet" Garnet orders; Onniks follows with a quick shuffle of his legs. "Now, the same thing as last time"

"Got it!"

"...Lower" *thump*

"Upper" *thump*

"Lower, again" *thump*

"Upper" *thump*

"Double" *thu-thump*

"...Alright" Garnet finishes as she lowers her hands. "I think that's enough for the offensive stuff. We'll cover a few blocking techniques, and that should be it for this segment"

"Alright" Onniks confirms. "I'm ready anytime"

"Good" Garnet responded. "Now, the main thing to know is that blocking - while you no doubt protect yourself from being attacked - will also cause fatigue and weaken your arms. For this reason, this part of the training will be brief. Always remember - counter attack as soon as possible after a successful block to make sure you don't drain yourself of valuable energy. This part will be quick, as there isn't much to go over, but you still need to know this. Block the wrong way, and you'll just end up breaking your arm instead"

Garnet approaches Onniks and stands in a basic fighting stance.

"Now - I'll be simulating your opponent. Don't worry - I'm not gonna hurt you, but I will be 'attacking' you so you can get a feel for blocking. The main thing to remember is to block with the part of the forearm where the muscle is, not the bone. You do that, and you won't be using that arm for several months"

Garnet throws a weak right hook towards Onniks' face.

"Now - block with your left arm" Garnet ordered. Onniks the held up his arm and stopped Garnet's punch from continuing.

"Good" Garnet replied. "Now, block with your right" She said as she threw a left hook this time. Just like before, Onniks blocked successfully.

"Block left" *whack*

"Block right" *whack*

"Left" *whack*

"Right" *whack*

Without notice, Garnet changed her tactic slightly. While Onniks was too busy concentrating on the 'left/right/left/right' pattern, Garnet then went for a straight punch. Onniks froze over the fact that he had no idea how to block - luckily, Garnet knows how to pull her punches.

"Why didn't you block?" Garnet asked.

"I... I froze" Onniks answered. "I wasn't expecting that - I had no idea how to counter"

"This is why we train" Garnet replied. "You're never going to truly know how your opponent is going to attack - the only thing you can do is stick to the basics and hope for the best. However, I'll show you how to protect yourself from a straight punch"

Garnet then returns to her original location where her punch was mere inches from Onniks' nose.

"Now - depending on which hand the punch is coming from, instead of blocking it, you'd want to push it out of the way. It's a good way to throw your opponent off-balance and leave them open for a counter attack"

Garnet then remembered something pertaining to the training.

"Now that I think about it - there's one more thing I need to cover before we continue: a little blocking technique called the reinforced block. It's similar to the normal blocks you've been executing, except that with your free hand, you make a fist and place it next to the elbow of the blocking arm. This will help with defending against heavier and lager attacks"

Garnet then sits by as Onniks fiddles around with the new block he learned. 

"Just like that" Garnet addresses. "Now - let's go for a few more minutes"

Onniks agrees and assumes a guarding stance.

"Now - right block" *smack*

"Left block" *smack*

"Right again" *smack*

"Push to the left" *whack*

"Push to the right" *whack*

Garnet then sneaks in a kick aimed for Onniks' right kidney. As she was about to connect - 

*whack*

Onniks blocked it with a low forearm block. Garnet then tries to counter with a kick to his neck, but that was also blocked by Onniks with a reinforced block.

"You're learning - good job!" Garnet praised.

"Gotta expect the unexpected, right?" Onniks replied.

"...Speaking of which" Garnet adds "I think its time for the third set of weights"

Just as before, Onniks climbs out of the pool to equip the new weights and returns to the middle. Meanwhile, Garnet goes back to the lever behind the waterfall, and pulls it downward more slightly. The center of the pool once again sinks in, thus making the water depth about 5 feet - just about shoulder level on Onniks.

Onniks is already feeling the effects of having the four-pound weights on his wrists and ankles - the constant increase in weight is taking a toll on his limbs. He begins to move around a little to test his mobility in the water - if it weren't for the weights, he wouldn't have any traction whatsoever. Moments later, Garnet jumps in the pool still wearing the pads.

"Now, for this part" Garnet began, "you're going to combine what you've learned so far into one session. Once again, I will be your 'opponent' - all the strafing, punching, kicking and blocking maneuvers you've accumulated will be utilized. Don't worry - I'll go slow at first until you start getting a feel for everything, then I'll start picking up the pace. The only thing you need to worry about is hitting the pads. You can hit them any way you choose - just make sure that you do. Any questions before we begin?"

"Just one" Onniks pondered. "What's the catch? All this sound a little TOO easy - especially by your standards"

"One" Garnet started, "Prepare to block my 'attacks' at any point - this is both offensive AND defensive training.

Two - since I'll be considered your 'enemy', I won't be telling you whether to block or hit - an actual enemy won't be so willing to give away their weak spots.

And three - which is the most grueling of all - is that we're not going to stop until the water and weight resistance no longer constrains you"

"*ughhh...* Me and my big mouth" Onniks grumbled. "Well, if this is the only way, then lets do this" he finished as he put his guard up.

Forty minutes into the session, and Onniks can slightly feel a difference in his movement. In this short time, he's been concentrating on sticking to mainly a few punches and kicks, trying to adapt to the weights - blocking when necessary.

After an hour and a half, Onniks' mobility increased substantially. Strafing, back-stepping and lunging seemed near effortless. He was still feeling the effects of the weights on his wrists and ankles weighing him down, however he noticed that there was a definite increase in his speed and reflexes.

Three hours have now passed. The time just flew by unnoticed as Onniks persisted with this training segment. He was seemingly moving like the freedom of the wind, rather than the confines of the water. The weights he has equipped now feel non-existent. Every punch, kick and block he threw was executed with near pinpoint accuracy.

Garnet then backs away a little and lowers her guard.

"Alright - I think that's enough for this part" she spoke. "Now, for the final segment. Hop on out and get ready"

Onniks listens and hops over each ledge of the pool. As he finished equipping the ankle weights, Garnet tosses a black object near his feet. As he examines it, it turned out to be a half-faced breathing apparatus.

"You're going to need that" Garnet said.

"What - why? What's it for?" he asked,

"The final segment, of course" she answered with a smile.

Onniks then puts the wrist weights on and carries the apparatus to the center of the pool. Due to the weight increase, the eight pound set feels like the four pound ones from earlier. 

Garnet then stands in front of the waterfall and addresses Onniks.

"This will be - without a doubt - the most difficult part of the training you'll encounter. It will consist of a one-on-one sparring match between you and I, and it will not stop until you can land one hit on me. Don't worry - I will be using the same techniques as I've taught you, so it will be an even match. If you are ready, put the mask on"

Onniks doesn't hesitate for a second. He fits the mask over his nose and mouth, then dunks his head in the water to make sure its properly sealed. As he signals a thumbs up to Garnet that he's good to go, she then reaches behind the waterfall and pulls the lever one last time.

The center of the pool began to drop again, but this time, the drop was much further than previously. The pressure from the water was more constricting than Onniks originally anticipated, combined with the fact that even the weights felt heavier than before he entered - he know this was going to be difficult.

Onniks was completely submerged, and the water at the top was becoming less transparent. As he continued to stare up, he noticed a dark shadow hovering above him for a quick second, then started getting bigger until he heard it plunge in the water. He took a step back from the shadow, not knoing what it was. As it hit the bottom, it turned out to be Garnet jumping in the pool. As she took up a fighting stance, she held out her right fist and flicked her fingers at him, implying for him to advance.

As Onniks charged forward, he decided to fake out Garnet mid way and hop backwards. He was lucky he did, because as soon as he did, Garnet's right foot whooshed right in front of his face, missing it by a few inches.

Onniks then put his guard up and slowly approached Garnet. Garnet, however, seemed unconcerned bout his tactics.

As soon as he got close enough, he unleashed a flurry of middle and high-targeted side kicks - all of which were easily blocked.

Since Onniks was already so close to Garnet, he figured he might as well go for the direct approach. First, he went for a straight punch - which he was already sure it was going to be blocked, as it undoubtedly was. From there, he went to a barrage of punches of random targets - face shots, kidneys, torso - it didn't matter, even Onniks wasn't keeping track. He kept the attack going for a solid twenty seconds before he decided to back away.

As Onniks stepped away to catch his breath, he quickly studied his current situation: that there's no way he'd be able to beat an opponent that could possibly read all of his moves before he could execute them. He threw his hands up and shook his head in defeat. But Garnet wasn't going to allow that to happen.

As she charged towards him with a fierce left hook something happened that not even she expected.

CRACK!

Garnet tasted the sweet flavor of Onniks' right elbow connecting to her lips as he ever so slightly stepped to his left.

The impact of the elbow was so unexpectedly hard, that Garnet's glasses came off. What Onniks noticed then left him in a shock: That she had a third eye.

Garnet regained her composure and placed her water-suspended glasses back on her face. With a cocky grin, she makes a swooping motion with a cupped hand, telling Onniks to follow as she kneels down and leaps out of the pool. Onniks tried to follow along, but due to fatigue and water pressure, he was barely able to hoist himself up from the ledge that separates the five foot depth and the fully submerged area.

As he continued to pull him self into the shallower areas, he finally makes it to land and removes the mask and weights and puts back on his pant leg detachments, socks and shoes. As he leaned on a tree taking a breather, Garnet approached him.

"So - when did you figure it out?" she asked,

"...Huh? Figure what out?"

"Figure out that I was able to read all your moves before you did - about my Future Vision..." 

""Future Vision... So that's what you call it..." he replied. "Anyways, it was about half way through all those random punches I threw. I was thinking that there should have been no way you should've been able to block every single one of those - especially with all the training I went through earlier. That's when I assumed that If you can detect something I planned out, then what would've happened if I didn't plan anything"

"No, that wasn't it" Garnet replied. "My Future Vision would've detected you planning something random. No you did something my Future Vision would never have planned on you doing"

"What would that have been?"

"It didn't plan on you giving up so easily"

"I see..." Onniks modestly responded. "And sorry for the whole 'elbow to the teeth' and the 'glasses coming off' thing..."

"Eh - accidents happen" Garner replied. "Besides, it was only training anyways, so I know you didn't mean any harm at all"

Onniks then sluggishly hoists himself up, using the tree as leverage.

"Can we go home now?" he asked. "These weights feel like they weigh a metric ton"

Garnet chuckles a little and answers his request.

"Sure thing. Sleep for a year, if you want" she said. "You're obviously more tired than you realize"

"Why do you think that?" Onniks asked.

"Because you're not even wearing weights"


	6. Malachite

*bop* (thud)

*biff* (smack)

*thonk*

"...Ten points if you get it in his nose"

"Oh, you are SO on!"

*bink* (whack)

FWOOP

"Ha! Got it!"

"Tch - aw, man..."

\----------------

As Onniks slept on the couch in the front room, he groggily woke up feeling a little congested. As he lay barely awake on the couch, he tasted a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. With a hard cough and exhalation, green and purple pieces of popcorn shot out of his mouth like confetti. As he tried to breathe through his nose to get back to sleep, he noticed that there was something plugging his left nostril - a stray piece of green popcorn.

"Use a tissue - not your finger, clodiot! Don't you know how many germs are on that thing?"

Onniks was woken up zombified by Peridot's angsty voice. As he sat up, dozens of green and purple popcorn kernels tumbled down his face and chest and onto his lap, followed by one last piece bouncing off his forehead. There, he saw Peridot and Amethyst at the foot of the couch, holding color-coded bags of popcorn representing their gem color.

"But no, seriously" Onniks spoke, "What in your ever-loving mind made you think this was a good idea?" he asked, to which Amethyst quickly answered without hesitation.

"Well, first I wanted a bag of popcorn 'cuz I wanted something to snack on, and this was the only thing we had that was easy to make. Then when I sat down to enjoy the popcorn, your irritating snoring kept interrupting me. That's when I started tossing popcorn in your mouth to shut you up - worked for a few seconds until you spat it out. First, I kept doing it because it was funny watching you keep spitting the popcorn out - next thing I know, Peridot and I ended up making a game out of it. Even colored the popcorn to keep track of the score".

"U-huh. I see" Onniks replied uninterested by Amethyst's explanation. "Seems like I lost this round of Popcorn Basketball. Since that's the case, I must let you know - where I come from, when one is defeated, the loser is required to sing songs of praise to the victor. Please - allow me to praise you"

"Well, since I DID score the winning shot" Peridot spoke "I'll allow this, just... try to be intelligent about it - 'Peridot', after all, is a difficult word to rhyme"

"Of course, madame" Onniks politely replied.

Onniks then dragged the girls by the backs of their chairs and placed them in the center of the room, with their backs facing the front door. As he obtained his guitar and pocket amplifier from his case, he connected them together and stood in front of the girls and plucked a few chords to make sure everything was working.

"I wonder what he's gonna sing about?" Peridot asked.

"Perhaps my intoxicating beauty?" Amethyst responded.

"Or my vastly superior intellect?" Peridot replied, while the two giggled like school girls.

"...Neither" Onniks answered.

Without warning, he cranks up the volume controls on both the guitar and amp as loud as possible and tugs the deepest, most bass-ridden string the guitar had to offer - very short of breaking it.

The vibrations from the amp sent the girls rattling away on their chairs straight out of the front door, and over the balcony. 

The sound waves carried across the the town. The giant novelty donut decal resting on the Big Donut cafe shook loose, and rolled away from the shop and into the ocean.

Garnet, while sleeping on her bed - worn out from the training session with Onniks yesterday, gently slid out of her bed completely undisturbed.

Pearl, however, was knocked off-balance while she was holding on to the handle of the fridge during the middle of making Steven's lunch, while he was at the Big Donut picking up dessert during the electric earthquake.

As the tremor subsided, Pearl frustratingly approached Onniks from the back and proceeded to push him outside. From there, Steven can be seen on the sand, assisting Peridot and Amethyst to their feet.

"No no no no!" Pearl scolded Onniks. "That is NOT how we do things here - we do NOT solve our problems with catastrophic aftershocks"

A single tide from the ocean then rolled onto the beach furiously.

"See" Pearl continued "Even the ocean is mad at you" 

Onniks glances over in the ocean's distance, then makes eye contact with Pearl again.

"Yeah, but..." Onniks paused "When does the ocean have four eyeballs and puffy hair?"

Pearl froze as her heart immediately sank. As she looks over, she saw - as plain as day - the blueish-green female-figured titan trampling out of the water, with a mouthful of the fake donut that rolled into the ocean moments ago.

"Whole wheat!?" the ocean beast criticized as she spat out the fake donut away from the temple onto the beach. "I said 'cream-filled'!"

"G-G-G-Gar-Gar-" Pearl stuttered. 

Before she could finish calling her name, Garnet lunged out of the front door and onto the beach, completely unnoticing Pearl and Onniks as she jolted between them.

"Alright, team! Let's move!" Garnet ordered. 

Out of her right field of peripheral vision, she notices several smaller figures approaching, those being Amethyst, Steven and Peridot.

"Amethyst - let's do it!" Garnet addressed, as she held out her right hand towards Amethyst.

"Aw, now that's what I'M talkin' about!" Amethyst gleefully replied as she accepted Garnet's invitation hand-in-hand.

As their fusion dance routine passes, Garnet and Amethyst soon merge into one entity - the purple-tinted behemoth Onniks hazily remembered seeing during the bout with Meddio - Sugilite.

Meanwhile, during Sugilite's transformation process, Peridot then addresses Steven about their fusion.

"Steven, listen" Peridot spoke "I know you like Connie, and like fusing with her, but right now, we can't afford to wait for her. We gotta-mmf"

In the middle of her talking, Steven pinched her lips together to get her to stop.

"I wholeheartedly - agree" he replied. He then let go of her, then offered her his hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked smilingly, with a twinkle in his eye.

"...Yes" she answered with a blush, as she held his hand and proceeded to dance like children would, shortly becoming Tourmaline once again.

While the fusions were commencing, Pearl and Onniks hopped over the railing of the balcony; Pearl rushed over towards Sugilite, while Onniks took his time, pulling out a notepad and a pencil from his pocket, scribbling something down in list form. Tourmaline, who was besides him, took notice of his list of notes, some of which read:

"- Dual-tone metallic strings

\- Gems fusing

\- Interplanetary transport

\- (Giant green sea monster)"

"What in the world are you doing at a time like this!?" Tourmaline demanded.

"Just making notes of all the weird things I've seen during my short time here" Onniks answered calmly.

"Seriously?" Tourmaline replied. "You have to do that NOW, of all times?"

"Yeah, yeah." he answered, as he secured his notepad and pencil back in his pocket. "I know - I know. Keep your shirt on"

"My shirt is ALWAYS on, you dweeb!" she scolded.

"Will you two knock it off and concentrate!?" Pearl demanded. "Malachite's gonna- D'OOF!"

Pearl was quickly interrupted as Malachite swept her huge hand across the sand and grasped Pearl in a tight clench.

"You know what? I'm done playing around" Tourmaline spoke.

As she extends her right arm outward, her gem begins to glow. There, her summoned weapon appears on her wrist: a circular object with four curved neon lights - two green and two pink - connected to a thin metallic t-shaped frame, which rests on the device on her wrist.

"Your weapon is a launchable chakram? ....Nice" Onniks praised.

"Yeah - that's right. Now stand back, and watch a pro in action!" Tourmaline boasted.

As she points her fist directly at Malachite's face, she presses a button on the side of the wrist device, which sends the chakram spinning towards Malachite...

... Which then flies above Malachite's head, clipping a few hairs, while a gust of wind blows the chakram to the side.

Onniks, Sugilite, and Pearl - who was still in Malachite's fist - stared at Tourmaline in bewilderment.

"Eeehehehehe" Tourmaline nervously laughed as she scratched her head. "I TOTALLY meant to do that guys! It was all part of-"

Tourmaline then stopped herself mid sentence, then took off on a sprint towards the house.

"*sigh* ...Looks like it's my turn, then" said Onniks as he summoned his sword. 

He then placed the sword under his right arm with the point facing backwards, then leapt back, teleporting through his black portal behind Malachite, sticking her in her right shoulder. With a jerk from his legs, he made a continuous incision down her back, leaving a shadowed trail afterwards.

"GAAAUUGHH!" Malachite screamed as Onniks slid down her back.

Malachite frantically reaches behind her back with with her free hand trying to nab Onniks. She misses a few times, until-

*yank*

Malachite apprehends Onniks by his legs with his sword still in hand, dangling him upside down in front of her.

"Dunno who you are, nor do I care" Malachite spoke to Onniks "I'm gonna make sure you don't do THAT again!"

She then tightened her grip on Onniks' legs to a near bone-cracking level.

"D'AAUUGH" Onniks growled as the compression on his lower body increased.

As he regained some of his composure, he then sent another black spiral down his right arm and into the sword, causing it to radiate with a black aura.

"Useless attempt, what you're doing!" Malachite criticized Onniks. "You'll never hit me from THAT angle!"

"Ooooh, nononono" Onniks replied. "You got it all wrong, sweetheart - this isn't for me"

"What are you talking about?" questioned Malachite.

Onniks then threw his sword towards Sugilite's right side, the blade and handle both growing three times its size in mid air, then landed her arm's length away.

"Sugilite! It's all you!" Onniks addressed.

As Sugilite grabs the sword, she couldn't help but admire how near weightless it was.

"Holy smokes - I can't believe how light this thing is!" said Sugilite. "Feels like it weighs nothing at all!"

"Nothing at all?" Pearl asked.

"Nothing at all!" Onniks confirmed.

Sword in hand, Sugilite charged at Malachite and swung at her torso in a vertical motion, targeting her left shoulder, taking precaution as to not hit Pearl or Onniks.

Malachite couldn't react in time - the attack was too fast and clean.

As Malachite's body disintegrated, Onniks - who spotted a blue tear-shaped object in front of his face - secured it as he fell to the ground, barely landing on his feet due to the strain from earlier.

Meanwhile, Pearl recognized a familiar yellow rectangular gem and encased it inside a pink bubble she sprouted from her fingertips. Both the bubble and gem inside it instantly vanished as Pearl landed on the ground effortlessly.

With the battle complete, Sugilite reverts back to Garnet and Amethyst, while Steven and Peridot approach the scene. Pearl then walks up to Onniks with a serious demeanor.

"Alright - now hand over Lapis" she ordered.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about" Onniks replied.

"That blue gem you have - I need it"

Steven then arrives to the conversation, voicing his opinion.

"Pearl, no! You can't bubble Lapis!" Steven exclaimed.

"I have to, Steven" Pearl replied. "She sold us out to Homeworld, and jeopardized the Temple. If it weren't for her-"

"Pearl" Steven interrupted "You know none of that was her fault. You know she was forced into everything by Jasper - Lapis even tried making up for it by keeping Jasper at bay as Malachite. If you're going to blame anyone, then blame the right people - blame Jasper"

"I..." Pearl hesitated with a sorrowful expression. "No, you're right, Steven. It wasn't her fault - never was. I was just looking for a scapegoat to blame everything that happened that night on, and I was wrong to do so. I'm... I'm sorry. If she's listening, I just want her to know that"

As Pearl finished her apology, the gem in Onniks' clutch began to shake. As he let it go, it floated up and outward several feet, then began to reconstruct a body. As it finished, there stood a female figure with light blue skin, and short dark blue hair with a dress of matching color. Without notice, she walks up to Pearl and gave her a gentle hug.

"That's all I ever wanted to hear - thank you" she said with a smile.

"Oh, uhh.. you-you're welcome, Lapis" Pearl embarrassingly replied.

"Wait a second - where's Jasper? If I'm here, then she's-"

"Bubbled" Pearl replied. "Don't worry - we have her properly secured"

"But that bubble won't holder forever. What's gonna happen when she breaks out?"

"Then we'll deal with her when that time comes" Pearl answered. "And even if she does, we have strength in numbers, so we got that going for us" she continues as she points to Onniks, who was staring blankly at the ocean.

Uncertain of his reaction, Lapis approached Onniks carefully And spoke to him nervously.

"HEL-LO! I'M LA-PIS! NICE TO MEET YOU!" she said.

Onniks, slowly turning around to face her, gave a courteous bow and replied to her comment.

"Hello - I'm Onniks. I speak two languages - human and sarcasm. However, I'm more fluent in the latter. While I CAN speak in hexadeci-mmf"

"Not. Another. Word." Pearl intervened as she muffled him with her hand.


	7. A Better Explanation

Later that night, as the gems settled down after a nice dinner (along with a squabble between Peridot and Lapis over past confrontations) and a bit of catching up on Lapis' part when she was still Malachite, Onniks, who was playing another cover on his guitar for the house, was approached by Garnet with an inquiry.

"So, what's your secret, Onniks?" she asked.

He thought about the question for a second.

"A quarter cup of brown sugar, and bake on three hundred fifty degrees"

Having heard that, Lapis couldn't help but spit out the sip of warm tea she had in her mouth laughing at the remark.

"Mmm - no" Garnet replied. "Let me rephrase that... That sword of yours... why did it feel so light? It weighed practically nothing when Amethyst and I used it as Sugilite"

"Oh, thaaaat" Onniks replied, now understanding the question. "That's because it was just a shadow copy"

"I'm sorry - shadow... 'copy'?"

"Yeah. I can duplicate any inanimate object with reasonable mass by manipulating its shadow. Here - I'll show ya"

Onniks walks over to the kitchen and places a cup on the counter closest to the living room. He then sets a lamp by the cup and adjusts it so the cup casts a shadow.

"Now, the main stipulation is that the shadow has to be connected to the object that's casting it, so that way the shadow knows where it's being cast from. That's when I can make a shadow copy - like this"

Onniks then holds the tips of his thumb and index finger of his right hand a couple inches apart and conjures a glowing green ball between them. He then drops the ball directly on the cup's shadow and quickly moves his hand away. The ball then spreads out across the shadow in a grid-like pattern until the entire shadow was completely covered.

From there, as the green grid touched the cup, the grid then turned red and continued to spread along the surface of the cup until the cup itself was mapped out.

Once the cup was covered in the red grid, but the red and green areas both turned blue, signaling that the duplication registration was complete.

Onniks then put his hand next to the blue grid and absorbed it into his gem, along with the shadow, leaving no trace of the shadow by the cup anywhere. Within a moment's notice, the shadow returned to the cup that the light from the lamp was casting.

"And that's all there is to it" said Onniks. "The blue lines and shadow you saw get stored to my gem, allowing me to conjure whatever's been stored at any time"

"Well, that certainly explains the 'how' " confirmed Lapis "but it doesn't explain the 'why' - as in why would the object be weightless if its an exact duplicate?"

"That's been puzzling me for a while as well" Onniks answered. "I think it might have something to do with the fact that a shadow is weightless on its own. Here's what's even weirder-"

Onniks summoned his sword, then looks at Peridot.

"Hold out your hands for a second" he requests.

"Yeeeaahhh... no thanks" she nervously replies as she curls her hands up to her chest. "I... kinda need these for shaking at people when I'm agitated"

"*sigh*... I'll do it" Lapis offered as she extended her arms "... you yellow-bellied -"

"My belly is green, thank you very much" Peridot interrupted.

"So THAT'S why you always keep your shirt on!" Garnet added.

"Tch - whatever. This is stupid" Peridot complained. "I'm going to bed." 

As Peridot steps on the warp pad, she places an L-shaped finger figure with her right hand on her forehead and sticks out her tongue at everyone.

"Nyaaaa!" Peridot continues as she teleports out of the room.

A moment of brief silence fills the air in the room.

"Aaaanywho" Onniks says to change the subject "Lapis, hold on to this part of the sword, please?" he asks.

He then places the blade of the sword in her hands, with the edge facing away from her.

"I... don't understand" she responds as she lifst the sword, noticing it has weight to it. "I thought it was supposed to be weightless? Its like - three and a half pounds..."

"THAT'S the strange part about it" Onniks replied. "It only has density when I hold onto something that's been shadow copied. NOW lift it" he continues as he removed his hand from the handle.

As Lapis gave the blade a good bop, the entire sword took its time falling back down into her hands. She then holds the sword by then handle and gives it a couple of controlled thrusts, impressed by the handling.

"Can... can I play with it? Pleeeeeaaaase?" she asks with an impatient grin.

"Ha! sure thing - go right ahead" Onniks answers. "...Let's go outside with it, though. Don't wanna risk hitting anyone"

As Onniks, Lapis and Garnet step away from the house several feet, Onniks remembers a small key factor:

"Wait... can't practice with a sword without a target" said Onniks. 

"I... I can fix that, actually" Lapis suggested. "Gimme one moment"

With the shadow sword in her left hand, she places her right hand on the sand, which then a circular area of about ten feet in diameter begins to foam as water begins to rise. As the water kept rising, it also slowly turned a very light blue color as it solidified. This process continued as a pillar of ice was constructed about six feet in height - from which Lapis was able to jump off of with ease.

"Wait a second - you're able to control ice, now?" Garnet asked.

"Well - indirectly, yes" Lapis answered. "What I actually do is conjure the water first, then cool down the temperature of the water to solidify it in one motion. The only downside to doing that is that it takes a lot of energy to do those two things at once, so I'm only able to make small piles of ice, as opposed to large chunks of naturally forming ones"

"That's... pretty impressive" Garnet praised. "When did you learn to do that?"

Lapis slightly cringed at the question, but answered it nonetheless.

"When... I was still as Malachite. It helped me keep Jasper held down longer, since her limbs were frozen to the ground"

"Yes, but using your element to modify its properties to create something new? That's some serious skill, right there. Seems even I have some catching up to do - good job." Garnet finished as she walked up the stairs and back into the house, who crosses paths with Pearl on the way inside.

"Amethyst!?" Pearl yells at the beach "Have you seen Peridot? I gave her some leftover candy to split between you, her, and La-La-LaLaLaLAPIS! Be careful with that thing - it's EXTREMELY SHARP!"

"Relax - it'll be fine" Onniks confirmed, as Pearl ran down the steps and approached him. "I'm keeping watch on everything"

"That... doesn't sound too reassuring" Pearl replied.

Lapis lightly chuckled at Pearl's comment while still hacking away at the ice block.

"But can't you see how happy she is?" Onniks countered, as shards of ice flew between him and Pearl. "Besides - isn't it better for her to do this and vent her frustrations on a pile of ice, rather than cause serious injury to someone on accident?"

"You... do have a good point" Pearl replied. "*sigh*... Well, alright. Just be careful - please"

However, Lapis was already finished chopping away at the block, gasping for air while sitting in the ground.

"*gasp" It's... *wheeze* done..." Lapis sluggishly spoke.

Onniks, while recovering his sword from Lapis' left hand, observe the statue with Pearl.

It was a two mini-statue piece. One was a statue of Peridot running away, and the other was of Lapis chasing her while wielding Onniks' sword.

"I give it an eight-point-five. I'm really feeling the intensity" Onniks observed.

"However, I only give it a seven-point-five" Pearl countered. "I can sense the passion, but there's not enough love"

As the three giggle at the poor attempt at criticism, they heard the movement of sand coming from behind. As they look over, they notice Peridot walking backwards and reaching in a small bag then putting her hand near her mouth, as if keeping a close eye in front of her trying to look for someone.

"*gaaaaasp*...WHATAREYOUDOINGPERIDOT!?" Lapis screamed, forcing Peridot to nearly jump out of her skin, spilling some small objects out of the bag.

While Lapis and Onniks were laughing at Peridot, Pearl was interrogating her about the bag.

"Was that the bag of candy I told you to share?" Pearl demanded.

"Well, yeah" Peridot answered. "I was gonna, but then I got lost and-"

Peridot paused for a second to observe the ice statue.

"So - that's how you really feel, huh?" Peridot asked.

"...Juuuust a little" Lapis answered with a grin as she pinched her fingers together in front of her face, being effortlessly adorable as usual.

"Don't try to change the subject" Onniks addressed Peridot, as he stabbed his sword in the ground and rested his hands on it.

"Will you please put your sword away, Onniks?" Pearl asked.

"*sigh*... Alright, fine" he answered.

He then faces Pearl and Lapis, but at an angle to where Peridot can't notice him putting his sword in his mouth - the tip of the blade vanishing as it went passed his teeth. 

Once Pearl and Lapis realized what he was doing, they put on their poker faces and quietly went with the gag.

Onniks then leaned his head back and continued to push the sword downwards, maintaining the illusion of him eating it.

He made it half way through the sword, when Peridot started feeling a bit queasy.

From there, he jiggled the other half of the blade a little, making it look like the blade was stuck. As he continued the optical illusion, he then made a screeching sound, similar to two metallic objects rubbing together as he finished the prank.

He held what was left of the sword towards Peridot and made an offer.

"Hey, you want some of this? It's a bit spicy, however" he said.

Peridot began turning shades of green abnormal to her usual skin tone. She threw the bag at Lapis and then ran towards the door, stopping in front of it and looked at Pearl angrily.

"If this is another one of your weird experiments, then whatever you put in that so-called 'candy' of yours - I don't wan't any part of it, ya hear!?" Peridot exclaimed as she ran into the house.

Meanwhile, Lapis scoops up the bag of candy, opens up one of the wrapped candies, unravels it and places it in her mouth.

"Ooh! My favorite - watermelon!"


	8. Mistakes

Onniks was having a difficult time sleeping that night. The refrigerant in the air conditioner had depleted, and Onniks felt suffocated all night. It was several hours until sunrise, so Onniks decided to pass the time until then by practicing on his guitar.

He turned the volume control on the guitar completely down and turned on an MP3 player with a pair of ear buds in his ears. He then plays all his music in shuffle mode, not caring at this point which song comes on - he just wanted something to play along with for practice as he tries to fall asleep.

A few hours pass, and Onniks is out cold - guitar still in hand and the MP3 player on the table. Pearl then approaches the kitchen from the warp pad to brew her morning pot of tea and notices Onniks plucking a few strings on his guitar in his sleep - she couldn't stop herself from blushing.

"Aww, that's just too cute!" she thought to herself as she curled her fingers in a ball in front of her mouth.

Meanwhile, Onniks still continued to play in his sleep.

*pluckpluckpluck - - twaaaaang* "Thang you erryone gunnide....*snore*" he mumbled in his sleep.

"P-f-f-f-ft!" Pearl chuckled, holding a hand in front of her mouth, trying very hard to not burst out in laughter.

As she approached him, she noticed the MP3 player on the table. As she inspects it, she noticed that it was then playing a classic love song, about twenty seconds in. 

"So, you listen to this kind of music, also? You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Pearl spoke to herself.

She then turned down the volume on the MP3 player so it wouldn't disturb anyone, unhooked the ear bud from the port, then carefully removed an ear bud from Onniks' ear that was closest to her.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Pearl whispered as she gently nudged Onniks' shoulder.

As Onniks slowly wakes up, he can hear a familiar song quietly playing in a close distance. As he looked in the direction of the music, he saw Pearl smiling embarrassingly as she held up his player with the song still playing.

"Holy stars, Pearl! Doncha know how to knock!?" Onniks exclaimed as he tried to grab his player from Pearl, but missed as she stepped back.

"Well, for starters - Commander Apparent - you don't have a door. You don't even have a bedroom... though we're gonna have to fix that later" she answered as she scanned the living room. "Besides - you need to get up, anyways. Since we still don't know when Meddio is going to show back up, we need to be prepared - which means you need a bit more training, especially when dealing with your gem magic. Come - Steven and Peridot are already waiting"

"What do they need training on?" Onniks asked as he slipped on his shoes and stood up, ready to go.

"Not 'they' - 'she'. Tourmaline" Pearl corrected as her and Onniks approached and stood on the warp pad. "She needs training with her chakram. Last thing we need is another incident like what happened with Malachite"

As the teleportation sequence finished, Onniks' first view was staring at four large tilted colored squares - white at the top, and then blue, pink, then yellow when looking clockwise. On either side of the squares were a set of steps that led upward to a door to another part of the area.

As the group climbed the steps and passed through the doorway, Onniks couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw - an ancient, worn down arena that appeared to be flying in the sky. It had a long staircase leading to the center of the area, and rows of seats encircling the floor. Three statues stood on the main ground, however a fourth statue seemed to have been destroyed in the far end.

"Is... is this seriously a floating coliseum?" Onniks asked, staring in awe.

"Why, yes it is" Pearl answered. "Why - something wrong?"

"No, of course not" Onniks replied. "It's just... after all I've already seen... I swear - one of these days, I'm gonna be carried away to a place where I'm a side character in a cartoon..."

"Ooh! They have one of those in the Ophiuchus star system - it's really adorable!" Pearl confirmed. "But let's worry about that later - for now, meet me in the center of the arena, please?"

"Umm, Pearl?" Peridot spoke. "Can I borrow Onniks for a bit? This'll only take a minute" she asked,

"Well... alright. But make it quick - we got a lot to cover" Pearl confirmed.

As Onniks followed Peridot up to the top of the steps, that's when she addressed him.

"Alright - here's the thing" Peridot started. "I need you to do both of us a huge favor"

"What's that?" Onniks asked.

"I need you to get Pearl off my back for a while. She's been driving me bonkers for the last several days, and I really need some peace and quiet"

"What's that gotta do with me?"

"Listen - I can tell you like Pearl. A LOT. I noticed that when you two were talking today before I came here"

"I swear - You tell anyone that, and I'll-"

"Relax. I'm not gonna say anything" Peridot reassured. "Besides - I know what Pearl's training plan is gonna be. You wanna get on her good side, here's what you gotta do"

Peridot signals to Onniks to lean forward so she can whisper in his ear.

"Now, when she says she wants a one-on-one match with you, you gotta catch her off guard, like this: *whisper whisper*"

"WHAT!? There's no way that'll work!"

"Of course it will! Would I lie to you?"

".....YES. You would. For the fun of it"

"*sigh*... Alright, I'll tell ya what - I'll throw in something else as well"

"Yeah? And what would that be?"

"There's a computer shop owner near where Connie lives - he owes me a favor for stopping a hacker from stealing his credit card information"

"So, what does he owe you, then?"

"Fifteen-inch tablet - MacroHard Paneglass Nine with a five terabyte titanium alloy hard drive. You do this - it's yours"

Onniks nods his head in agreement.

"Alright - you got a deal. I swear - if this is a trick...."

"It's not. Don't worry."

"Are you two done up there?" Pearl asked in an elevated tone. "We got a lot of ground to cover, so we need to hurry"

"Yeah, we're done here" Onniks confirmed. "Comin' right down now"

As Onniks hurried down the steps, he neglected to notice Peridot moving in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Steven takes a seat on the front row of the arena, observing Onniks' training.

"To start, let's try some evasive exercises. Now, defending and blocking attacks are good, but its obviously better if you don't take any hits at all if you don't have to"

Pearl then assumes a fighting stance that doesn't seem too guarded - her left leg paced in front arced a little at the knee, her left arm held at an angle pointing down in front of her abdomen, and her right arm pointing up across her chest.

"Stand like this - just like how I am" Pearl suggests.

Onniks complies and mirrors her stance the best he could, seeing as how this is new to him.

"Good" Pearl confirms. "For this exercise, you want a fighting stance that's well relaxed, but able to block and defend yourself when necessary - this particular stance should be satisfactory"

Pearl then approached Onniks standing in the same stance.

"First, what we're going to do is practice on dodging attacks - not blocking. I shall be your sparring partner for this exercise. Don't worry - I know this is your first time, so I'll go nice and slow for you"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get it on, then" Onniks replied with a smirk.

Pearl then takes a few steps towards him and throws an obvious right punch - which Onniks dodges easily by leaning to his right a little. She then pulls back her right hand then throws a left punch, which was once again avoided.

"Alright - now we're gonna pick up the pace" Pearl replied.

She then not only doubles her speed, but also doubles her attacks. Left, right, left, right, right, left left, right, left, right, right - even threw a couple of unexpected kicks in the mix. Dodging, strafing and side-stepping all the attacks were easy for Onniks, however he wasn't used to the rapid movement as opposed to his previous underwater training.

The round continued for roughly thirty seconds when Pearl decided to double her attack speed once more, this time without warning. Garnet's water training in no way prepared him for this kind of rapid movement. Every attack Pearl threw, Onniks barely missed - he could feel the breeze of the punches whizzing past his face.

However, due to the developing fatigue of the dodging, Onniks' streak of good luck came to an abrupt halt when...

WHACK!

One of Pearl's punches connected to Onniks' right cheekbone, which sent him staggering backwards several feet and landing on his left knee.

"Onniks!" Pearl screamed as she ran towards him.

As she kneeled down next to him and held his right hand, patting it to wake him up, what he saw then felt like a dream - A pair of beautiful, tear-filled sky blue eyes that were too easy to get lost in. So calm, and relaxing... Enveloped in a veil of serenity... Nothing felt real to Onniks at that moment.

*snap snap* "...niks..."

*CLAP* "Onniks!"

"Huh, what?" Onniks replied as he was suddenly snapped back into the third dimension thanks to Pearl's distractions

"I must've gotten you harder than I realized" Pearl spoke.

"How's that?" Onniks asked.

"I know I've accidentally hit you on one cheek, but both of them are really red..."

Onniks then stood back onto his feet with lightning reflexes.

"Nope nope nothing's wrong everything's fine next lesson, please?" he replied hastily as he returned to the center of the arena.

"Al... right...?" Pearl said as she followed him.

"Now - for the next part, we're going to work on flipping. These maneuvers will help aid you in keeping you momentum up while not only avoiding attacks, but also to keep a small silhouette in case of a counter attack"

"Sounds good. what's first?" Onniks asked.

"Hmm... No to offend you or anything, but do you know how to do cartwheels?"

"No offense taken. And yes, I do know. And back flips. However, I'm not that good in successive executions"

"Understood - that'll give me something to work with. Have you tried doing single-handed cartwheels?"

"Nope. Never even crossed my mind, actually"

"I see. Sinlge-handed ones will allow you to use your momentum to avoid attacks while still maintaining possession of your weapon. Since you're right-handed, try moving to the left using only your left hand to push off the ground"

Onniks nods in confirmation and attempts Pearl's instructions. He bends to his left and balances on his hand, shifting his legs over and placing his feet back on the ground to finish the maneuver. He completes the task five times until Pearl halts him.

"Good" she replies. "Now, try the other way, while still using the left hand. This will be a little more difficult, since you have to cross your hand over to the opposite side of your body. Making it look pretty doesn't matter for this - only that you understand the method"

Onniks then nods again in confirmation. He makes a few gestures as if he's going to flip over but stops beforehand, trying to get a feel of the motion before the attempt. He then decides to make the attempt - he shoves off with his right foot harder than normal, and crosses his left hand over his chest and pushes off it, landing on his opposite foot. Once he landed, he maintained the momentum and continued the cartwheels back to where he started.

"Excellent" said Pearl. "Now that we got those out of the way, let's work on back flips - let's see your method"

Onniks obeys her order. With a hefty leap in the air, he tucks in his knees and flips backwards, landing hard on the ground.

"I see" Pearl replies. "The problem is that you're relying too much on your legs. Try using the same method as the cartwheels - bend back, balance on your hands, kick one leg over, then follow up with the other. It'll help not only with weight distribution, but also returns you back to a fighting stance once you stop"

Onniks complies with her instructions. He takes a couple steps backwards to build up a little momentum, then proceeds to commence Pearl's advice as he leans back.

"Balance on your hands" he thinks to himself as he replays Pearl's words in his mind, placing both hands on the ground.

"Kick one leg over" he repeats as he brings his left leg over first.

"Then follow up with the other" as he kicks his right leg over.

As he stood up, he noticed that Pearl was right - he was in a fighting stance as he finished the flip.

"Good" Pearl congratulated. "Now - let's see if you can give me a few more consecutive flips"

Onniks obliges. This time, he starts off with a simple lunge backwards and repeats his process.

Balance, kick, follow, stand.

Balance, kick, follow, stand.

Balance, kick, follow, stand.

Before he knew it, he was already done.

"Ah! Excellent! Well done" Pearl praised.

"Heh heh heh! Thanks! Don't think I woulda been able to do that without your help" Onniks replied blushingly as he scratched his head.

"*cough* Yes, well..." Pearl choked "How about something less strenuous?" she asked.

"Sure - I'm game"

"There's just one small thing I wanted to address before we continued to the main part - summoning your ninjato"

"But I already know how to do that"

"Yes I know, but I'm going to show you a more convenient way of doing so"

"I'm all ears"

"Try this - instead of having your gem send the ninjato to you, try channeling the weapon's energy in front of your gem first, then grab onto it, letting your weapon form in your hand then"

"I never even thought of doing something like that. I'll give it a whirl, though"

As Onniks concentrated on summoning his ninjato, he forced the gem to stop sending the spiral down his arm, and instead focused on the gem itself, telling it to form the ninjato in front of him. After a few moments, the gem then started emitting a dark cloud, which soon condensed itself into a small black orb that Onniks as able to grab onto. As he pulled the orb away from his gem, the orb instantly stretched out and formed into Onniks' ninjato.

"Holy cow - that WAS more convenient" Onniks spoke happily.

"Indeed it was" Pearl confirmed. "Now, we can get down to business"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Now, you're going to condense all the training you've accumulated thus far and face me in a one-on-one sparring match. I know this is just training, so I won't go ful force, but I also won't make it easy on you, either. Ready?"

"This must be the one-on-one match Peridot was talking about earlier" Onniks thought to himself.

"Ready!" Onniks answered as he takes up a fighting stance.

Pearl then summons her spear from her gem and prepares for the match.

"En Garde!" she yells as she charges towards Onniks with her spear, which he side-stepped effortlessly. Pearl then counters with a horizontal slash followed by a kick aimed at Onniks' head, but he executed a single back flip and dodged both attacks. Pearl then followed up with a series of non-stop attacks:

*stab - parry*

*stab - parry*

*downward vertical slice - strafe*

*horizontal strike - back flip*

Pearl was starting to get annoyed. As she lunged forward with a hard stabbing thrust, Onniks waited for the attack. As she got close to him, he grabbed the spear, pulled her close to him and...

*peck*

Onniks gave Pearl a small kiss on her right cheek. As Onniks turned around, he noticed Pearl standing still, completely frozen by what had transpired. He then took this opportunity to approach from behind and held his sword several inches from her neck.

"I guess this point goes to me, then!" he replied.

".........*sniff*"

Cla-cla-clank

She dropped her spear and placed her hand on the cheek Onniks kissed, which made him confused as to why she did that.

As he looked over her shoulder, he noticed that her face and eyes were nearly filled with tears and sorrow, with several teardrops glistening down her face.

".....*sniff*...Rose..."

Onniks lowered his sword and tried to comfort Pearl.

"Pearl? What's wrong? I'm really sorry if-"

"...No, it's nothing" she interrupted as she slowly walked towards the arena steps. "...Just... Training's done for today, I guess..."

After those words, she took off into a sprint and escaped on the warp pad.

Dropping his sword on the ground, he takes a seat near Steven and cups his hands over his face as his eyes begin to tear up as well.

"...I... don't know what...*sigh*... Man, I screwed up BIG time..." Onniks self-criticized.

"Don't... Just - don't worry about it - I'll see what's going on, just wait right here, alright?" Steven replied as he left the arena and went to find Pearl.

Onniks then sat idly by on the seat, awaiting Steven's return, when suddenly...

CRRR...K-K-KA-TINK-K

*COUGH... wheeze... pant*

As Onniks catches his breath, he rubs his hand over his gem from under his shirt and plucks a gem shard from the stone and flicks it away,

Hours flew by since Steven left, and Onniks hadn't budged and inch. From up the steps, Steven's voice can be heard.

"Hey - you still here?" Steven asked. "Peridot already told Pearl about everything and apologized for it. Why haven't you came back yet?"

"Two reasons" Onniks answered.

"Which are....?"

"One - Pearl may have forgiven Peridot, but she's probably still mad at me for what I did. She probably won't even look at me anymore"

"I'm sure she'll forgive you. That's just in Pearl's nature. Besides - Peridot already explained what happened and took responsibility, so Pearl knows you're not at fault"

"Huh. I see..."

"What's the second problem, then?" Steven asked.

Onniks then looked at Steven with his eyes still teared up and answered the question.

"....I don't know how to use the warp pad...."

"...Oohhh"

As Steven and Onniks returned home, Onniks stepped off the pad and headed towards the living room as Steven stayed on it.

"I'll be right back - I'm gonna go and try to find Pearl" Steven spoke.

"Yeah. Alright" Onniks replied as he waved Steven goodbye.

As Onniks scans the room, he notices Amethyst scoping out his guitar and plucking some strings.

"Hey, you know where any paper and pens are?" He asked Amethyst. "Just need to write something down real quick"

"Uhh, yeah" she answered. "There's some right in that small closet over there" as she points to the small door next to the steps.

Onniks searched the closet under the steps leading to Steven's room and located a blank sheet of paper and an ink pen. He then took the stationery to the kitchen counter and began writing something on it.

Just then, Peridot opens the front door and sees Onniks inplain sight scribbling on the paper, which makes her reluctant to enter.

"Wha...What're you doing?" Peridot asked.

"...Writing out a will..." he answered.

"What? Why?" Peridot asked. "Pearl already said she's not gonna kill you for what hapened earlier"

"You misunderstand" Onniks replied. "This isn't for me"

Onniks then puts the cap back on the pen and faces Peridot.

"It's for you..."

After a moment of intense staring, Onniks then rushes towards Peridot.

As she seen him charge, she hops on the railing to the porch and canonball's toward him, knocking him down, somersaulting off him, then climbing up Pearl - who happened to show up just in time - like an angry feline.

"Pearl! Help! He's trying to kill me!" Peridot screamed, as she pointed towards the paper on the kitchen counter.

As Pearl looks at the paper she red the hastily scrawled note.

"---WILL--

Peridot owes me everything

-Onniks

P.S. - Gonna kill Peridot"

Pearl then crumples up the paper and replies to Peridot.

"Oh, he's not gonna kill you - You're a gem. The only thing he'll do is poof your body"

Onniks then gets up and sits on a seat next to the front door.

"That's okay - I'll just poof her body... then grind her gemstone into dust and use it to sprinkle on my birthday cake!" he retorts with a devilish smile.

"See!" replied Peridot. "I told you he's gonna kill me! Now he want's to destroy my gemstone and use it as a cake ingredient"

"Oh, stop worrying" Amethyst rebutted. "He's not gonna do that"

"What makes you so sure he won't?" Peridot asked.

"Because - your stone is the completely wrong color for cake. He'd most likely use it for cupcakes instead"

"You're not helping, Amethyst" Pearl criticized.

"Wasn't trying to, P!" Amethyst replied

"D'eeew" Peridot added with a tone of disgust.

The next morning, as Onniks woke from his needed rest from last night, he noticed a medium-sized box with white wrapping paper over it with his name on it in large red lettering resting on the living room table.

As he picks it up, he sits on the corner of the table and opens it, completely surprised at what he saw.

MacroHard Paneglass Nine. Fifteen-inch tablet. Five terabyte hard drive.

While Onniks was preoccupied with the box, Peridot tried tip-toeing by, hoping to remain undetected by Onniks.

"...Stop" Onniks spoke. Peridot remained in place.

"...C'mere" he adds. Peridot then approaches Onniks.

"How'd you know it was me?" Peridot asked.

"...Saw your shadow - you're not THAT slick" he answered.

"So, uhh... didja need something?"

Onniks then set he unopened box on an open space of the table behind him, and without saying a word, he reaches out towards Peridot and gave her a hug around her shoulders.

"I am SOOOO sorry for last night" Onniks apologized. "I should've never threatened you like that - I know you didn't deserve that. Please - forgive me"

Peridot blushed a little, then returned the hug back.

"It.. It's alright" Peridot replied. "I... kinda deserved it, actually. I took your feelings and knowingly shattered them for my own personal gain. I'm sorry for THAT. Will you forgive me for that?" she asked.

"Hmhmhm... Of course" he answered.

A few awkward moment pass by, the Peridot started feeling leery.

"Can you let me go, now? If someone catches us, it'll be hard to explain"

"Uhh... yeah - of course" Onniks answered as he released his arms from Peridot.

"Just... one more thing, if you don't mind?" Onniks asked.

"What's up?"

"If... if you ever feel like pranking me again, that's fine, just... don't involve other people, alright?"

"Heh. Yeah, of course" Peridot confirmed with a devious smirk as she left out the front door.

Meanwhile, Pearl, who was watching everything between Onniks and Peridot from the rafters in the kitchen, sat by and enjoyed the conversation in tear-filled satisfaction.


	9. The Room / The Return

Later that day, after Onniks and Peridot exchanged apologies, while Steven, Peridot, and Lapis were hanging out in Steven's bedroom sharing the video game console, the rest of the gems, including Onniks, were hanging out in the living room dying of boredom,to the point where the "Kitchen Calamity" board game was set up on the table in the living room, but hadn't even been touched.

"Maaan, I am boooored" Amethyst complained. "Why's there only one TV in the house, again?"

"Because Greg's been rather.. let's say 'frugal' with his money lately, and I just can't whip one up from thin air" Pearl answered.

"Whaaat? You can fix a van and make a space ship from out of nothing, but don't know anything about television? That's... kinda hard to believe - even coming from you, P"

"I'm sorry, Amethyst - it's not like I'm exactly omniscient, you know"

As Onniks listened to Pearl and Amethyst dabble on back ad forth about Pearl's technical expertise, he began drifting away since the topic of televisions were brought up, reminiscing about his childhood regarding a similar instance.

[ As Onniks stared into the window of a pawn shop, he felt mildly depressed that some of the stuff he wanted, he couldn't afford.

"Wish I had some of that cool stuff in there" he thought to himself. "Even that TV would be nice to have" as he stared at a small twelve-inch television set.

He then put his index fingers together and pointed them straight above his head.

"Y'know, just... make a door right here and walk right in" he thought to himself.

As he moved his fingers apart then downwards as if drawing a door, a red outline traced his finger movements, and instantly, a room to a separate place appeared. ]

Onniks then sprang up from his daze as if a golf ball with the words 'obvious' was written on it hit him on the forehead.

In a surge of excitement, Onniks tries to step over the table, but instead slips on the board game, flinging game pieces everywhere behind him as he rolls off the table and flops on the floor, quickly recovering to his feet as if nothing happened.

The ruckus Onniks created caused the three from upstairs to pause the game and observe the clamor.

"Alright - it's official" Garnet spoke. "That boy is grounded from caffeine for a week"

Onniks felt a sense of depression after hearing Garnet's news.

"Tch - but mom - !" Onniks pouted as he crossed his arms around his chest and stomped his foot in the floor.

"That attitude will get you nowhere, young man" Amethyst blurted. "Besides - you know this is for your own good, so there's really no point in arguing about it"

Onniks then stomps over to the table and sits on the corner, placing his elbows on his knees and rests his chin on his fists.

"Man... This family stinks" he grumbled. "Jimmy's mom let's him have caffeine"

"...Wait. Who's 'Jimmy'?" Amethyst asked Garnet, in which her reply was a simple shrug of her shoulders in confusion.

"*sigh*...Anyways, Onniks" Pearl spoke, trying to change the subject "What was it that got you so excited earlier?"

Onniks paused for a moment trying to recollect his thoughts, then remembered what it was as he stood up.

"I think -THINK- I can solve the TV issue. Not entirely sure, however"

"Well, any plan is better than no plan at this point" Amethyst replied. "Let's see whatcha got"

"Observe" Onniks responded, as he mimicked the finger movements of his child self, creating the door with the red outlines in the middle of the living room.

"Come on in" Onniks offers. "Plenty of room for everyone"

As the six occupants of the house gather around the door's red arch, they immediately recognize the architecture: Various shades of green triangles line the entire room, along with several evenly spaced yellow triangles to help light up the room. The most noticeable part of the room's structure was that it was abnormally tall - as if it could fit someone standing at eighteen or nineteen feet with six or seven feet of headroom.

The room was about fifty by fifty feet, and designed to be more like a bedroom than anything: A two-level bunk bed - with a very large bed at the bottom, and a regular-sized bed on the top; a three-layered stand with several unfamiliar objects on each ledge and wheels at the bottom, and a lengthy neon green octagonal frame rests on top, with a green cord protruding from the back of the frame, and four yellow prongs connected to a thin beige cylinder at the end of the cord; a large green dresser with twelve drawers and yellow handles; a huge light green rectangular box with a light yellow horizontal bar down the left side of the box; and finally, a chandelier, with one white light in the center, with a multitude of smaller jewels encircling it in a rainbow pattern.

"...How in the world did you get your hands on Homeworld furniture?" Garnet asked Onniks.

"I have a simple and scientific answer for that" he answered.

"And... what exactly -is- your 'scientific' answer?"

"Easy" Onniks replied as he leaned on the door's arch. "I. Don't. Know. One day when I was a kid. I was looking in a shop that had some TV's in it, and me - wishing I had one of them - imagined making a doorway with my fingers as I drew an outline hoping I coulda gone through it, and -poof- there it was"

"But there's gotta be a more probable explanation" Pearl replied. "No human - or even a hybrid - just randomly stumbles on Homeworld tech"

"Beats me" Onniks spoke. "All I know is that whoever owns this room had meant to let me use it, or at least borrow it - otherwise I wouldn't have access to it in the first place"

As Onniks and Pearl were in engaged in their conversation, Peridot was busy admiring the green octagonal frame on the wheeled stand.

"Onniks, do you have any idea what this is?" Peridot asked.

"....Umm... No, Peridot, I don't. Believe me - if I did, I'd probably be using it right now"

"This, my friend, is a fifty-two-inch 'HoloJector Four Thousand'. You know that TV problem we were having a while ago? This'll solve that"

"Well, if you can somehow get that thing to work, then I suppose it would't hurt to let you borrow -BORROW- it. Thing ain't mine, so I just can't go around giving things away like that"

"Swee-hee-heet" Peridot replied. "So, Pearl - care to give me a hand with this? I'm sure that with your knowledge on Earth technology, we can get ths baby going"

Pearl then approaches the stand and examines the cord coming out of the green frame.

"These prongs...they sorta look like Gem Destabilizer tech... except for -you know- the whole 'gem destabilizatin' mechanism. I think I can rig up an adapter, but it might take some time"

"If you would be so kind" Peridot addressed Pearl "would you please commence with the development of the adapter, while I arrange the downstairs to provide a suitable location for the HoloJector?"

"It would be my pleasure" Pearl answered as the two giggled deviously as they pushed the stand out of the room.

Meanwhile, Steven and Lapis' attentions were diverted as they noticed a glass cylinder with metallic ends attached to it standing vertically on the dresser. Inside it, a long chrome object with a black, green, dark blue, and light yellow ribbon wrapped around the bottom of the object remains undisturbed.

"Hey, Onniks" Steven spoke. "What's the deal with the glass tube?"

Onniks then looks at the glass tube that Steven was referring to, then approached him as he summoned his ninjato, showing Steven the hilt of the weapon.

"Look familiar?" Onniks asked.

Steven then glanced back and forth a few times between the tube and Onniks' weapon before he realized...

"Wait - that means that the weapon you have is actually the shadow copy of the one in the container!"

"Exactamundo, kiddo!" Onniks replied.

"But if you have the original one right there, then why do you use the shadow copied version?" Steven inquired.

"Two reasons" Onniks answered. "One - a shadow copied object retains its physical structure at the time the object was copied, which means that no matter how many times the shadow copied object gets damaged, all I have to do is re-summon it, and it comes back the way it was before"

"And two?"

"Two - That original sword up there is very personal to me - for reasons I don't feel comfortable explaining right now. Maybe some other time"

"*sigh*Alright" Steven lazily replied. "But I'm holding you up to that! Hey, Lapis - wanna go help Peridot with the front room?"

"Errr... I dunno... What do I get out of it?" Lapis asked.

"You get to annoy Peridot by getting in her way!" Steven answered.

"Well... You DO bring up a compelling argument... Okay, let's go!" Lapis said as she and Steven ran out of the room.

As Onniks was about to leave, Garnet stops him immediately.

"So, Onniks"

"What's up?"

"Remember that HoloJector Pearl and Peridot wheeled outta here about five minutes ago?"

"Uhh... yeah. What about it?"

As Garnet points behind him, he glances in that direction and notices that another HoloJector stand had appeared.

"Y'know... under normal circumstances, I'd be really nervous about that" Onniks replied. "But after meeting all of you? Nothing surprises me anymore"

"Expect the unexpected, I see" Garnet replied. "Good - wise choice of words to live by, especially in this house"

As Garnet and Onniks pass through the arch, the door closes then vanishes right behind them.

About a half hour passed waiting for Pearl with everyone sitting idly by in the living room, then Pearl makes her appearance though the warp pad with the adapter in her hand.

"Sorry it took so long" Pearl apologized. "Creating an input/output regulator from scratch so that Mayor Dewey doesn't nag at us for hogging the town's electricity was a little more difficult than I had originally planned"

"So, how much electricity does this thing take?" Onniks asked,

Pearl then kicks a hole in the wall above the plug-in where Peridot cleaned and started examining some wires.

"Oooh... About one point twenty-one gigawatts" she answered.

"Sheesh. With THAT much energy, you could make a time traveling machine out of a plexi-glass phone booth"

"Don't. Give her. Ideas" Garnet replied very sternly, as the lights in the house flickered off, then back on.

"Yeah, man, Garnet's right" Amethyst added as a white light flickered off the side of her face, with sparks flying in the distance. "Last time she tinkered with THAT much electricity, a semi truck grew some arms and legs, called itself Maximus Alpha and ran off somewhere"

"Last time I seen it" Garnet continued as the sound of a power drill can be heard in the background inserting some screws "It was being trailed by a convoy of unrelated vehicles"

"There! The adapter's installed!" Pearl replied happily. "Now we just plug in the HoloJector, and..."

As the electricity circulates through the HoloJector, the green frame begins to glow brighter as the area in the middle slowly turns black.

"So is it on, or...." Onniks asked.

"Ehh... More like stand-by" Pearl answered. "There's a few sensors on the lower right part of the frame you can touch to turn it on and change channels and such - like this"

As Pearl touches one of the sensors, the black screen flickers a quick white light, then displays a local Beach City program - a movie, to be precise.

"Oooh - Beautiful in Blue, with Maddie Ringwood!" Pearl exclaimed. "Haven't seen this in ages!"

As everyone agrees to watch the movie, Onniks reluctantly hesitates.

"Yeah, this one? I've only seen it like one thousand nine hundred eighty-six times. Tell ya what - I'm gonna take a nap - wake me up when it's over, please?"

Several hours pass, and everyone was out of the house, save for Lapis, who was practically glued to the chair staring at the HoloJector.

"Man, that felt great!" Onniks exclaimed as he leaned up and stretched his shoulders. However, he felt an ominous silence within the room.

"Where is everyone?" Onniks asked. "It's... too quiet - even for THIS house"

"Oh, uhh... wait - that's right" Lapis paused, momentarily unaware that she was being spoken to "Pearl and Garnet are in some place called 'The Burning Room' taking inventory of the bubbles, and Steven, Amethyst and Peridork are at the arcade"

"Pff-hahahah. Peridork, nice" Onniks chuckled.

As he continue to look around, he noticed a controller on the table connected to the Holojector that wasn't there earlier.

"So, what's the story with that joystick right there?" Onniks asked.

Lapis glanced at the table to figure out what he meant by a 'joystick', then understood when she saw the controller.

"Oh, that - Pearl remembered that this particular model of HoloJector also doubled as a security screen, so she also installed some cameras in the lighthouse. You know - 'just in case' "

"Anything happening so far?"

"Well... there was something, but I think the camera froze"

"Whaddaya mean 'froze'? 

Check this out" Lapis requested as she switched cameras. "This weird silver ball crash lands quite away from here and levels practically every building in a quarter-mile radius. Anyways, this weird alien guy pops out of it and just stood there, not moving a muscle"

"Silver ball, and an alien hops out? Why's that sound familiar" Onniks thought to himself.

"...Can you zoom in on him, please?" Onniks asked.

"Yeah, sure" Lapis obliged.

As the camera zoomed closer on the alien, Onniks' blood ran ice cold.

"Th... that's... that's...." Onniks repeated?

"That's... who, Onniks?" Lapis asked.

"....Meddio" Onniks answered, with his fists clenched tightly.

"Who's 'Meddio'?"

Onniks couldn't answer. Instead, he hops over the table and forcefully opens the front door. 

"Just... Tell the gems I'll be back, alright?" 

After finishing his request, Onniks then leapt over the balcony railing and used a series of portals to propel himself across Beach City to confront Meddio.

After a couple minutes passing by, Pearl and Garnet appear on the warp pad and rush into the living room. As Lapis heard their footsteps closing in, she confronted them.

"We have a major problem" All three gems spoke simultaneously.

"You first, Lapis" Pearl requested.

"It... It's Onniks - he just... ran off in a hurry"

"Did he say where he was going?" Pearl asked.

"All I know is that it had something to do with an alien named Meddio"

Garnet and Pearl both cringe at the sound of the name.

"Did... did you just say 'Meddio'?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah - see?" Lapis answered as she pointed to the HoloJector, with Meddio still on display.

"Are you kidding me!?" Garnet yelled. "We have to deal with Meddio as well?"

"As well? What else could there be?" Lapis asked.

"^sigh*... It's Jasper - she's escaped from the bubble" Pearl answered.

"Lapis" Garnet commanded "You wait here for the other gems to come back, and hide in Rose's room until we get back just in case Jasper shows up - Pearl and I are gonna trail Onniks - Meddio is top priority right now"

"U - understood" Lapis confirmed.

With Garnet's orders in effect, she and Pearl race down the beach, in hopes of catching up to Onniks in time.


	10. Round Two

Onniks continued to propel himself across the town with his portals, using the gravity to provide momentum as he kept heading towards Meddio's location - which was easily identifiable by the pillar of smoke cause by the wreckage.

As Onniks reached the outskirts of the city, he immediately recognized it - it was the same city he had left about two weeks ago and made his way for Beach City. Why Meddio chose this place to arrive - Onniks had no idea, but one thing was certain: he was going to get his answer - one way or another.

Once he closed in on the wreckage, he used a portal to propel himself upward to slow down his momentum, then created another one that placed him close to the ground for a safe landing. From there, he traveled on foot to the center of the devastation.

Inching his way through the rubble, Onniks saw a hazy brown figure standing by a grey round object in the distance - he knew this was obviously Meddio, so Onniks decided to have a bit of fun before he was caught and silently teleported right beside Meddio.

"...I don't think she's coming, bro" Onniks spoke softly.

"Of course she is - she's never late" Meddio unwittingly replied.

"...Sure you gave her the right address? I mean - you remember what happened last time, right?"

"Yes, I gave her the right address. Do I look like an idiot?"

"....."

"....."

Onniks then leaned backwards and flipped out of the way as Meddio's sword swung over his head.

"What are you doing back here, anyways?" Onniks demanded. "You shoulda been space dust the last time you were here"

"Well, I suppose I could tell you" Meddio replied "since -you know- you're not gonna be around much longer to tell anyone... Since my previous encounter, I went back to Homeworld to update Yellow Diamond with some extra information - including that sword you possess. She said that she remembers the sword, but not the owner of t - she mentioned I could find more information here. And I did. And since I had to come back to Earth anyways, Yellow Diamond requested I relay a message to another Gem, who should be showing up in 3... 2... 1..."

SMAAASH!

Onniks looked over and observed that which landed several feet away from him, and there she stood - standing at least a foot taller than Garnet, with tangerine skin, orange markings, long beige hair, and her most notable feature - a triangular orange gem where a nose would typically be.

"You know - if it weren't for your disgusting demonic stench fueling me with rage, I don't think I would've ever broke from that bubble" she said.

"Jasper!" Meddio exclaimed. "So glad you could join us - I was just telling our friend here that Yellow Diamond sent you a message... and her regards..."

Meddio then lifted up his left hand and pulled out a thin green rod from his hollowed wrist. As he held the rod between both index fingers, a holographic image of Yellow Diamond projects from it, from which Yellow Diamond broadcasted her message.

"Jasper - your failure to capture and destroy the small remainder of Rose Quartz's army is nothing short of embarrassing and disgraceful.

Therefore, it is under my authority to terminate your services under my army.

You are no longer welcome back to any part of Homeworld - should you decide to show back up, expect hostile action taken on your arrival.

That is all"

"And that's all she wrote" Meddio replied as he tossed the rod to Jasper, from which she immediately snapped it in half out of anger.

"How could she... Did she even have any Idea that I was a P.O.W.?"

"Pfft-what!? A P.O.W.!? To a Gem that's only half your strength? Please tell me you're kidding..." Meddio replied.

"No - I'm not" Jasper answered. "My mistake was underestimating my opponent's determination"

"Your 'mistake' was underestimating your opponent in general"

"Tch - yeah - says the one who got trampled by a giant purple gorilla" Onniks butted in.

"Wait - what?" Jasper inquired. "This schmuck got beat down by Sugilite?"

"Heh - yeah!" Onniks answered "Poor sap got squished into bacon bits"

"*ahem* Yes, well, if you two ladies don't mind" Meddio interrupted "I've got some important business to attend to regarding a few Gems the next town over, so..."

"Wait - are you talking about the remainder of Rose's army?" asked Jasper.

"Uhh... yeah, maybe?" Meddio answered condescendingly. "Who do you think was hired to clean up YOUR mess?"

However, as Meddio tried walking away from the scene, Onniks stopped him in his tracks.

"If you think I'm just gonna let you waltz right outta this area and hurt my friends again - I got bad news for ya, slick" Onniks intervened.

"And besides" Jasper continued "while I might not exactly care what happens to the Gems at this point - right now, I kinda need a major stress reliever, and you're the closest thing to me!"

"Oh?" Meddio replied "You're no longer a soldier of Yellow Diamond's army - what good will starting a fight with me do?"

"Heh. It'll give me the joy and satisfaction of tearing you to SHREDS!" Jasper exclaimed as she charged towards Meddio.

CRRAACK!

THUD-D-D-D

Jasper landed a solid right punch in Meddio's chest, inflicting a small crack in it and sent him tumbling across the ground.

"*cough* Heh" Meddio coughed as he stood back up and dusted himself off. "Gonna take a bit more than that to do me in"

"I know" Jasper replied. "I'm not an idiot - I've read the report on you, so I know about the rune on your chest"

"Wait - rune? What rune? Onniks asked.

"There's an enchanted rune on the center of the inside of his chestplate which binds his mist body to his armor. Destroy that rune, and you destroy Meddio"

"There's one small problem about that analysis there, pumpkin" Meddio replied. "See - thanks to Homeworld technology, that rune you speak of has been shrunk down to the size of a needle point, so good luck trying to hit it!"

Onniks then summoned his weapon via Pearl's 'express' method and confronted Meddio.

"Well, if that's the case, then we'll just have to grind you to dust to find it"

Onniks then dashed towards Meddio at a speed that Meddio couldn't anticipate; Meddio had no idea how much training Onniks had gone through in such short time.

Onniks stabbed him in the cracked area that Jasper earlier caused - his sword went through the front part of the armor and touched the inside of the back. He then placed his left foot on Meddio's chestplate for leverage as he pulled his sword out of Meddio's hollowed torso, lunging back a safe distance in assumption of a counter attack.

However, Meddio remained still. Instead, he focused on the repair of his armor in the same manner as which he used to restore his arm in the previous fight - with red strings attached to the broken pieces of the armor, returning them to their previous locations as a red light emits from the cracks and restores the shattered armor to its original condition.

"A for effort" Meddio sarcastically applauded. "A for effort. Unfortunately - as much as I like toying with you like a mouse, I think it's time to- D'HOOF!"

As Meddio was in the middle of his taunt, Jasper tackled him from the side and began pummeling on his chest on the ground.

"DON'T *whack*

YOU EVER *bash*

TAKE *thud*

YOUR EYES *smash*

OFF *crack*

YOUR OPPONENT! *crush*"

While Meddio used what energy he could to reinforce his chestplate from being shattered, Onniks snuck up to the side of him and jammed his sword into Meddio's left shoulder, preventing him from moving.

"GAAAHH! You insolent worm! I'll see to it that you pay for that!" Meddio threatened.

"Actually, princess" Onniks replied "consider that payback for what you did to my foot"

While Onniks and Meddio were exchanging insults, Jasper, who looked above her as she noticed a large shadow approaching, stood back up, grabbed Meddio's right arm, and twisted it off, using her foot to apply pressure on his chest as a counter weight.

"Here - hold on to this" Jasper told Onniks as she passed him Meddio's arm. "Get back a bit and make sure he doesn't try to get that arm back - you'll see why in a second"

Onniks hesitantly obliges and lunged back about twenty feet from his current position and remained on stand-by, keeping a firm grasp on Meddio's arm as Meddio tries to reclaim it.

At that moment, a large drill-like object attached to a long rod with a fist-like structure on the opposite side of the drill came crashing down on Meddio's chest and began digging in it, while Meddio himself utilized every ounce of strength he had into making sure his chestplate wasn't demolished by the drill.

"So inconsiderate! Don't you know it's rude to start the party without the guest of honor?"

As Onniks diverted his attention to the unrecognized voice, that's when he noticed her - standing at roughly 18 feet tall, dressed in a female entertainer's tuxedo. She had four arms and eyes, dark orange skin, a pair of elongated glasses that cover every eye, and a light peach-colored tetrahedronic hair style.

Jasper then approached the elegant giant, spawning an orange, square-shaped helmet with a visor connected to it.

"Sardonyx! Gimme some altitude, will ya?" Jasper exclaimed.

"You know, even though you could have asked a little nicer," Sardonyx replied as she scooped up Jasper with a free hand "I've been waiting for this for quite... some... *heave* TIME!"

Having said that, Sardonyx then lunged Jasper into the air, disappearing into the clouds.

"I sure hope you got a plan for this, ma'am" Onniks spoke with a heightened voice to ensure that Sardonyx heard him from a distance.

"Nope. No plan at all, sweetie!" Sardonyx answered.

"Wait - what? Then what was that whole 'Toss Jasper into the stratosphere' thing about?" Onniks asked, while still struggling with Meddio's arm.

"Your guess is as good as mine" Sardonyx answered. "Besides, she's been a thorn in my side ever since she came to Earth, so she had it coming for a while"

A moment later, Jasper came back down as fast as she went up. With pinpoint accuracy, she headbutted the fist decal of Sardonyx's drill, using the excess force as added weight as the drill continued to penetrate Meddio's armor - completely disintegrating it.

However, due to the force of Jasper's impact, caused Sardonyx and Onniks to fling backwards, rolling on the ground a bit then coming to a stop with minor injuries.

As Onniks double checked Meddio's arm, the piece of armor began to slowly disintegrate, signaling that Meddio's rune had been completely destroyed.

Meddio's streak of terror - and his very existence - had finally come to an end.

Jasper, however, makes her disappearance unnoticed as she flees the area.

As Onniks approached Sardonyx and Jasper, he also spotted a vaguely familiar balding, middle-aged man, wearing a white tank-top and a pair of grey cut-off shorts walking up to her.

"So, uhh... as fantastic a job you did, uhh..." the man replied as he scratched the back of his head "By any chance could I ask you to help me with my van?"

As he points to the van, both Onniks and Sardonyx clearly saw that it had been toppled over due to the shockwave of Jasper's impact earlier.

Sardonyx then gave an awkward smile in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that, Greg! It's just that that fight we just had was a real 'blast'! Ooohohohoh!" Sardonyx replied as she stepped away to place the van back on its wheels.

As Greg stood by watching Sardonyx help reset the van, he heard a set of footsteps approaching as they crumpled through the rubble. As he glanced in the direction of the sound, he noticed Onniks approaching.

Oh, uhh, hey! Onniks, right? My son's been telling me a lot about ya. So, how's your foot holding up? Seems to be doing better seeing as how you're walking on it" Greg addressed.

Onniks was reluctant to mention any names about the Gems, but seeing how Greg felt comfortable around Sardonyx made Onniks realize that Greg had to have known something about them.

"Oh, uhh... yeah, it is - thanks. It was actually Peridot who helped me - she injected me with some kind of regenerative serum when I was sleeping that healed my foot in an instant"

"He heh, yeah - she's a rather feisty one, let me tell ya. But she does have a nice side to her - well, finding it first is the hard part, but once you do - you're made in the shade"

As soon as Greg finished his comment, Garnet and Pearl had just arrived on foot after unfusing as Sardonyx.

"Van's all set. Ready to move out?" Garnet asked Greg.

"The sooner the better. This place gives me the heebie-jeebies" Greg answered.

Garnet then diverted her attention to Onniks.

"Why don't you come along as well? We still need to hear your side of the story, anyways"

"Sure - no problem. I can do that" he answered.

The group then approached the van - easily identifiable by the "Mr. Universe" logo painted on each side, with Greg driving, Pearl in the passenger seat, and Garnet and Onniks in the back of the empty van.

Along the way home, Onniks told his side of the story of what he witnessed - about how Yellow Diamond and Meddio obtained information about Onniks' sword, and how Yellow Diamond also discharged Jasper from her standing army.

"Oh - by the way" Garnet spoke to Onniks as soon as he finished. She then proceeded to hold up just two fingers.

"Two? Two what?" Onniks asked,

Garnet then used a finger to signal to Onniks to lean closer to her. As he did, she grabbed him by his shirt and commenced to give him an earful.

"That - is the number of more weeks you're grounded from Mountain Mist for pulling such a stupid stunt like that! What in the world were you thinking!? You could've gotten seriously hurt - even worse"

"I'm sorry" Onniks apologized. "I didn't have time to think - just 'do' - it was a better decision that just risk letting Meddio run around freely. Besides - had I known how to actually use the warp pad beforehand, then you should know that I definitely would've warned you - especially when it comes to something as dangerous as Meddio"

Garnet then made a clenched fist, but then released it, realizing that she made a mistake.

"*sigh*... You're absolutely right. Tell you what - I take those two weeks back after realizing I was wrong. And once we get the time, I'll show you how to use the warp pad"

"Deal" Onniks replied. "so long as we don't go to anyplace weird, like local mutant vegetables or something"

Garnet then smile and replied "...No promises"


	11. Lunch Time

It was just a few minutes past noon the next day, and Steven was searching the fridge for something to eat, but nothing seemed interesting at the time. While he was searching, he heard a set of footsteps slowly creaking on the porch outside the front door. Further examination from Steven revealed that it was Onniks, covertly peeking through a window inside the house.

Onniks then approached Steven as stealthily as possible, scanning the vicinity for any sign of life.

"Psst - hey... Garnet here?" Onniks whispered.

"Uhh, no. No one's here but us. Why?" Steven answered.

"Good. Then I can do this" Onniks replied as he pulled out a small bottle of Mountain Mist from his pocket.

As he cracks the top off the bottle, he chugs the contents of it as fast as possible in case Garnet happened to show up at that moment.

"*burp* Oh, sweet caffeine - how I miss thee!" Onniks spoke with satisfaction.

As Onniks screwed the lid back on the bottle, he looked around the area to see where he could hide the evidence, but nowhere seemed suitable. Instead, he quickly threw the bottle through a small portal behind him and quickly closed the portal afterwards.

"So, what was you lookin' for?" Onniks asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, just trying to find something to eat for lunch, since the Gems aren't back yet, but nothing seems good right now"

"Hmm... Lemme take a gander..." Onniks replied as he viewed the contents of the fridge.

As he shifted through all the items, he noticed a combination he could use - one that he hadn't worked with in a while. He pulls out a container of sliced ham, a box of economy-sliced cheese, and a tub of margarine. He sets them near the stove and pulls down a loaf of bread of an overhead cupboard and places it next to the condiments.

Onniks then opened the freezer and looked inside for a second, then pulls out two bags and shows them to Steven.

"So" Onniks spoke "Fries? Or tater tots?

As Steven switched his attention between the bags, he became more and more saddened about his indecision.

"I... DON'T KNO-HO-HO-OW!" Steven cried.

"Hmmm... I think I can solve this" Onniks replied as he pulled a coin from his pocket.

"Heads - its fries, tails - its tots. Cool?" Onniks suggests, as Steven nods in confirmation.

Onniks then flips the coin and lets it bounce on the counter on the opposite side of the stove.

*pink-a-dink dink pink pi-yi-y-y-yink....*

"...Tails. Tots it is"

He then shoved the fries back in the freezer and placed the tots on the counter away from the stove. Afterwards, he located some deep-frying equipment, filled the pot with some oil, and set the burner on a low simmer.

After several minutes had passed, the batch of tater tots had been fried and dumped into a small bowl, sealed to keep the tots fresh.

While Onniks was in the middle of smearing some margarine on the bread, an unexpected visitor crashed through the door.

"STEVEN! Long time, no see!"

It was Connie - as energetic as usual. She was carrying a large stuffed backpack on her back.

"Sorry I haven't been by lately" she apologized as she gave Steven a hug. "We went to a family reunion out of town, but it lasted longer than we had planned"

"Aww, it's alright, Connie!" Steven replied. "Better late than never, right?"

"And besides" she continued "since its summer break, mom and dad both agreed that I could stay here for a week to make up for lost time! Isn't that awesome!?"

"Completely awesome!" Steven agreed. "It's totally nice to see you again!"

As Connie glanced over at the stove with her peripheral vision, she didn't expect to see Onniks utilizing it.

"Hey Onniks! Looks like you're feeling better!" she addressed.

"A million times better. Thank you" he replied as he finished spreading the margarine on several slices of bread. "... Ate lunch yet?"

"*sigh* No" she answered. "Mom had to go on call to work early today, and dad couldn't cook anything even if his life depended on it, so he gave me some money for the bus and told me to get something on the way here"

"Well, you're in luck" Onniks replied. "I was just getting ready to make some"

"Hold on a sec while I call the fire department" as Connie jokingly pulls out her phone.

"Totally not cool!" Onniks replied with a chuckle as he pointed the spatula at her.

"Hehehe! Can we still watch!?" she asked.

"Sure! Pull up a couple chairs and watch a pro in action!" he answered slightly egotistically.

As the two kids sit on either side of him, they watched in awe as he placed a couple slices of buttered bread on the pan.

From there, he placed on both slices; a slice of cheese, two slices of folded ham, and a plain slice of bread on top.

As the bottom slice of bread sizzled for several seconds, Steven couldn't help but question Onniks' unique method of making grilled cheese sandwiches.

"You know... as much as I appreciate the addition of ham to an otherwise typically generic sandwich... aren't you supposed to have a slice of buttered bread on top?

"Normally. yes" Onniks answered. "However, these aren't your ordinary sandwiches - observe, and marvel"

Continuing to place condiments on the sandwiches, Onniks then reversed the order of the placement, with the folded ham first, a slice of cheese, then finishing off with a slice of buttered bread. As soon as the slice was put on, he then carefully flipped both sandwiches over and let the new buttered slices lightly fry to a crisp.

As he let the sandwiches idle on the pan for a minute, he then flipped them over once more to make sure both sides were golden brown - which they were. He then scooped the sandwiches up and paced them on a pate.

"Unprecedented" Connie spoke in awe.

"Inconceivable" Steven replied.

"A double-decker grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich" the kids both spoke in unison.

Onniks then passed the plate to Connie.

"Would you be so kind as to escort this plate to the living room table?" he asked.

Connie hopped off the chair first as to not risk accidentally dumping the sandwiches.

"It would be an honor" Connie answered as she stood as if she were addressing a person of nobility. As she accepted the plate, she scurried off to the table in the living room.

"As for you, Private Universe" Onniks continued as he grabbed the bowl of tater tots "your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to escort this container of bite-sized goodness to their destination"

Steven then grabbed the bowl with his left hand, placed it next to his shoulder, then saluted Onniks with his right.

"Sir Onniks - I accept the mission, and will carry it out to the best of my abilities, SIR!" Steven replied, but chuckled as he couldn't keep a straight face.

"Gemspeed, soldier!" Onniks replied as he saluted back, humorously grinning in kind.

As Steven headed for the table where Connie was waiting, he made it half way before he turned back around and opened the fridge.

"Can't forget the ketchup" he replied, as he grabbed the bottle and took a seat next to Connie.

As the kids began blowing on their food to cool it down, Onniks took a quick break to get out of the heat.

"Hey, Onniks - you're not gonna eat?" Steven asked.

"Nah, not yet" Onniks answered. "Got a little too hot for me over the stove, so I'm gonna let the area cool down first"

After several minutes while the kids were halfway done with lunch, the light from the warp pad shines, and Pearl was the first to run out of it.

"Steven, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "We rushed out of here to go on a mission, and I didn't have time to make...

...Your...

...Lunch...?"

Pearl's speech slowed down - as well as her sprint - as soon as she noticed Steven already eating the grilled cheese sandwich.

"Steven, you know you're not supposed to use the stove when we're gone - especially when it comes to grease" she lightly criticized.

"What? No - I didn't touch the stove, Onniks made all this" Steven answered.

"That's impossible" Pearl replied "the house is still standing"

Onniks then cupped his hands over his face in shame.

"Twice in the same day" he mumbled.

"Wait - you actually made all this?" Pearl asked.

"Yes, Pearl, I did" he replied as he uncupped his hands and smiled.

"That smells really good, Onniks!" Pearl praised. "I didn't know you can cook!"

"Of course I can" Onniks replied. "I'm a jack of all trades, after all"

Pearl then takes another whiff of the sizzling aroma.

"Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with tater tots?" Pearl pondered. "You can warm up my oven anytime" she continued with an embarrassing smile.

Onniks fumbled to the ground hearing those words, making a ruckus as he stood back up - pale as a ghost with ice-cold sweat streaming down his face.

"I don't see why you're making such a racket over lasagna" Pearl replied. "You need to warm the oven up to three hundred twenty-five degrees to bake it properly"

"Oh yeah, hahaha... The lasagna..."

"Oh, by the way - Onniks?" Amethyst spoke, changing the subject "Next time you wanna try hiding your evidence, pay attention to where its going next time"

"What - why?" he asked.

Amethyst then reached in her entangled hair and pulled out the same plastic soda bottle that Onniks ditched earlier. She then held it by the lid and threw it at Onniks, bopping him in the forehead.

"Because things like that happens - that's why" she answered.

"I notice you didn't try denying it" Garnet replied.

"Ooohhh... Cripes" Onniks muttered in defeat.

"You. Are in. Soooo much trouble" Garnet scolded with a devious grin.

"*sigh*.. I'll get the weights" Onniks moaned.

"Oh no" Garnet replied, "That's too easy"

She then summoned her weapon - rather, her weapons - a pair of gauntlets on her hands and placed them on the counter next to Onniks and removed her hands from them.

"You're gonna use those, instead" she continued.

Onniks then placed his hands inside them and tried to lift them, but didn't want to seem to budge.

"Man, these things weigh a ton" Onniks griped.

"Quit complaining" Garnet replied. "The're only fifty pounds each"

As Onniks sighed upon hearing that, he tried to inch the gauntlets off the table, only to have the sudden drop from the gauntlet's weight drag him to the floor.

"Hurry up" Garnet spoke with a heightened voice "I don't have all day"

Amethyst then stood over Onniks, who was recovering from a slight daze after banging his head on the floor.

"She must really like you" She replied. "She's only making you use her small gauntlets. Welcome to the Crystal Gem Fan Club!"


	12. Rennovation

It was already well past sunrise the next day, and Onniks was trying to catch up on some well needed rest thanks to Garnet's punishment, however his break was interrupted by the sound of something large grinding into dirt nearby.

As he stepped out the front door, that's when he noticed her - Sardonyx, the gem that helped defeat Meddio just a couple days ago. She was using her drill once again, but in a different manner, being that the drill head was placed on the tip of the rod, as opposed to being on the side of it like last time.

As Onniks walked down the steps of the porch and observed Sardonyx, he noticed she was drilling in the same spot that Pearl crashed into during her first encounter with Meddio. As she retracted the drill, Onniks tried peeking in the makeshift cave, but there wasn't enough light to permit a decent view. However, judging by the length of the rod of the drill, Onniks estimated that the cave was about eight feet wide by twenty feet deep, and was dug into the ground a little to provide a flat walking surface.

"Excuse me, miss" Onniks addressed her "I'm afraid that if its gold you're looking for, then this is a wasted attempt"

"Oh? And why do you suppose that is?" Sardonyx asked as she kneeled down next to him, grinning slightly.

"Because - while gold may be a precious metal" Onniks replied "you're precious enough as it is already"

"Why, aren't you coy" she replied, impressed with his retort. "I'll have you know - flattery will get you everywhere with me"

"Then I'd better watch my words" he commented. "Otherwise we'll be traveling the world together"

As the two chuckled at his comment for a moment, Sardonyx suddenly stood up quickly, as if she'd remembered something important.

"Oh dear, where are my manners?" she questioned. "Now that we're under less extreme circumstances, allow me to introduce myself - I, am the lovely Sardonyx - at your service"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance" he replied with a courteous bow "I am Onniks. Allow me to thank you for your assistance the other day against Meddio - I don't think he would've been defeated otherwise"

"Oh, don't worry abut it - I was more than happy to help! I'm just glad that we were able to... drill... some sense into him! Ohohohoho! - OH- speaking of 'drilling', that reminds me-"

As she stopped herself mid-comment, she stood back up and stepped away from Onniks and, standing in a glamorous pose, unfused back into Garnet and Pearl.

"Sooo... Whatcha think?" Pearl asked, feeling satisfied about her work.

Onnik then examined the drilled area, tracing the circumference of the entrance with his finger.

"Upon further investigation," Onniks replied "I can conclude that this is - in fact - a hole"

"Correct" Garnet added "But now this is your hole"

"Aww, what?" Onniks moaned. "You're gonna make me sleep outside like some filthy mongrel?"

"I wouldn't say 'mongrel', more like... uhousebroken feline" Garnet answered jokingly, to which Pearl sputtered a chuckle in reply.

"What Garnet is trying to say" Pearl answered "is that this will be your new bedroom, as opposed to sleeping on the couch. Granted - it's not much to look at right now, but everything will work out once this is finished"

"You couldn't just build an extension to the house?" Onniks asked.

"Nnnnot without risking the structural integrity of the house - no. And we couldn't use the Temple either - it was originally designed for so many occupants. Any drastic improvements over extended periods of time would be a strain on its magic. This...was the only other option I could think of - I'm... sorry"

"It's alright - don't worry about it!" Onniks replied with a thankful smile. "Besides - I actually don't mind being outside. I find dark storm clouds and starry nights to be kinda relaxing"

This made Pearl slightly blush, hearing Onniks talk a soft side of himself that one usually doesn't hear.

"Yes, well, umm" Pearl stuttered "since that's the case, I need to remind you that while we're still not done with this, I think you might like the outcome when it is"

"Awesome! Looking forward to it"

"Great!" Pearl replied. "I'll be right back - there's a few things I need to pick up at Greg's place. Garnet - could you please work on the base of the entrance?"

"And how - do you expect me to accomplish that?" Garnet asked skeptically.

"I'm... not sure" Pearl replied with uncertainty. "You could try compacting the drilled-out dirt by punching it into the ground, I guess?"

"Well - I do like punching things" Garnet confirmed. "Onniks - grab a shovel. Gonna need an extra pair of hands for this"

An hour had passed since Garnet and Onniks were assigned their task - which had been completed - but Pearl is still nowhere to be found. Garnet had moved the nearby log that Connie was sitting on when Onniks arrived into the cave for Onniks and her to rest on in the shade as they wait for Pearl.

"Tell me why I gotta drink 'Beach City Co. Refreshing Spring Water'?" Onniks questioned as he stares at a plastic bottle filled with a clear liquid.

"Two reasons" Garnet answered. "One - you're still grounded from Mountain Mist for two more days, and two - me dunking your head in the saltwater ahead of us is hazardous to human health... in several ways"

At that moment, a large familiar vehicle was spotted speeding past the cave, then turned around and faced the other direction in front of the cave and stopped, which two doors were heard opening and slamming shut.

"Sorry it took so long" Pearl's voice apologized. "Had to help clean out the van to make room for this thing - not to mention lifting it in the van and scooting it back by hand was a chore in itself. Can I get some extra hands over here, please?"

As Onniks and Garnet peeked in the back of the van, they noticed several pipes with wheels attached to them, a collection of rubber belts and a generator, encased in a chrome frame.

"Onniks," Pearl addressed "could you grab those bars right there and lean them upright inside the cave, please"

"Sure thing, boss!" he replied as he secured the stack under his arm and escorted them to their destination.

"And Garnet" Pearl continued 'could you carry the generator to the far end of the cave, please?"

"Not a problem" she answered as she hopped in the van and easily lifted the generator - the van lifting up off the axles and bouncing in the air a couple inches from the release of the weight.

Pearl then grabbed the belts and placed them next to the bars that Onniks had set down, then entered the van through the passenger side and pulled the latch to the hood, popping the hood open.

"Anything else you need?" Onniks asked while Pearl was hoisting the hood up.

"Yeah - just one more thing" she answered. See that open spot next to Greg? Stand there"

Confused by her request, he reluctantly heeded her request and arrived at the assigned location.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Stay there and don't move"

Greg then faced Onniks to address him.

"Yeah, when Pearl gets amped up doing what she's good at, the best thing anyone can do is stay out of her way. Oh, by the way - I'm Greg - Steven's dad. Sorry about not introducing myself earlier - doing that during the fight with that alien dude didn't seem right... A-anyways, nice to meetcha" he finished as he held out his hand in greeting, to which Onniks returned the gesture.

"Name's Onniks - Glad to meet you, too"

Onniks then continued with some idle chit-chat to pass the time.

"So, you're Steven's dad, you say?"

"Heh heh, yeah" Greg answered. "I know he can be quite a handful, but he really means well"

By this moment, Pearl grabbed the bars and belts resting in the cave and takes the to the back, making a small racket in the background.

"Oh, I know what you mean" Onniks replied. "Kid's definitely got a heart of gold"

"Yep! definitely got that from his mother. Only thing he got from me was... the love of playing the guitar, which is alright"

It was the 'playing the guitar' remark that triggered one of Onniks' memories. After a brief moment of flashing back, Onniks finally remembered something.

"Wait - yeah" Onniks replied. "I remember now - you were playing on that stage on the beach down a bit from the Tempe when I first got into town. Was that like a charity event or something?"

"Actually, no" Greg answered. "What I was doing was merely testing out some sound equipment there because it was the quietest place I could think of without disturbing the town. Next thing I knew, a whole crowd had gathered, so I just went along with it and lost track of what I was doing there in the first place"

"Yeah, I totally heard you jamming on that stage from the street where all those fast food restaurants are. I was gonna check that out, but due to some unfortunate events, that plan got delayed"

"Yeah - Steven told me about that - about how you came to help out when that alien guy showed up. I just wanna say thanks for that. There wasn't much I could do myself, y'know, being human and all.."

"Hey, glad to help! If you think I'm just gonna sit by while innocent people are attacked, you got another thing coming!"

"Steven also mentioned something about you also being a guitar player?"

"Eeehh... More like 'guitar enthusiast'. Not exactly professional-level myself - I just cover songs until I can get comfortable enough to start my own music"

"Well, we all have to start somewhere, right? I know! - try adding some extra notes and change the tempo to the songs you know how to play already - maybe that'll help you in finding your own rhythm?"

"That... actually might work. I'll hafta give that a try later"

By this time, Pearl had already finished setting up the bars and connected the belts to the wheels, with one smaller wheeled bar clamped to the body, and had begun fiddling with the engine in Greg's van.

"You know - I cant believe how versatile Pearl is" Onniks continued to speak to Greg in a whisper, which Pearl overheard and made her slow down her tinkering to eavesdrop on the conversation "I've seen her fight like a knight, dance like a ballerina, cook like a five-star chef, repair broken instruments, create and install power outlets to energize outer space technology, and now it appears she has mechanical knowledge as well... Is there anything she can't do?"

Pearl then paid closer attention to the exchange of words.

"Y'know, in all of my years of knowing Pearl" Greg answered "there's only one thing that I know of that she can't do"

"Yeah? What's that?"

"...She can't let anyone down"

"Man... That's a truly amazing woman, right there"

Pearl then leaned up from the engine and looked over her shoulder, addressing both Onniks and Greg.

"You know - I can hear the both of you" she replied, startling them both.

"G'UUH! Umm... So Greg - did you catch the monster truck show last night?" Onniks responded in a hurry to change the subject.

"Uhh, yeah!" Greg answered, following Onniks' lead "I mean - that Dirt Treader, though... Hoo-whee! I couldn't believe that truck jumped all those cars like that!"

"I know, right? Missed that very last one by mere inches! And... *blabber jabber*"

As Peal resumed her adjusting the engine, she discretely smiled in appreciation after hearing nothing but compliments about her.

A few moments passed by, and Pearl had just connected the last belt from the engine to the wheel that was clamped to the body of the van.

"Well... What do you think?" Pearl asked, seeking a critique from Onniks and Greg.

As they inspect Pearl's finished work, they clearly noticed the long chain of belts connecting the engine to the generator in a straight line, supported by the wheeled bars used as a makeshift pulley system.

"Well... I can totally understand the concept of using the engine to charge the generator" Onniks replied "was there no way to bring the generator closer?"

"Well, there was" Pearl answered. "There was a stand for the generator in the storage unit a while ago, but we helped Greg clean it up, and a bunch of stuff unfortunately got discarded to Amethyst's room"

"What about Garnet? I'm sure she could have charged the generator with one pull of a cord"

"Oh - heavens, no. The last time she tried that, she ended up overcharging the battery using barely any strength whatsoever"

"She's right" Garnet replied, who was sitting on the log in the cave the whole time. "Remember that semi truck we talked about the other day? That generator is what's powering it"

"Yeesh..."

"Yeah, I think I saw that thing a couple days ago" spoke Greg. "It looked like it was following a couple military jets"

"We'll deal with that once it becomes a real problem" Pearl replied as she reentered the passenger door. "But for now, let's just concentrate on this"

She then reached over and started the engine, causing every belt connected from it to the generator to rotate.

"We won't have to wait that long" Pearl continued. "Just need enough charge to get the generator running on its own"

After a couple minutes of idling had passed, Pearl then cuts off the engine, returns to the front of the van and disconnects the belt from the engine.

"Onniks - could you gather the rest of the equipment while I restore the engine, please?" Pearl asked.

"Right on it" Onniks replied. He immediately began his requested task and proceeded to recover the bars and belts, starting with the ones closest to the van and working his way to the back of the cave, releasing the tension of each belt as he progressed. He then returned what he had gathered to the back of the van and closed the door.

By this time, Pearl had already fixed the engine and closed the hood.

"There you are, Greg - van's back to its regular condition. Thanks for letting us borrow it" she spoke.

"Hey, no problem!" Greg replied as he entered the diver's door. "If you need anything else, give me a holler!"

Greg then drove off the beach, waving goodbye through the passenger window as he left.

"Great! Just a few more things, and we're done!" Pearl decreed with glee. "Garnet, could you come with me, please? The rest of what I need are in my room, and could use some extra hands bringing them here"

"Sure - I could do that" Garnet simply replied as she stood up from sitting on the log, waiting for Pearl at the entrance of the cave.

"Onniks, I'm gonna need you to start the generator in the mean time. It's an old machine, so it might take a while trying to start it The good thing is that it runs on the electricity it produces, so once its on, it'll stay on"

"Consider it done" he answered as he approached the generator, repetitively tugging on the cord trying to start it, while Pearl and Garnet headed out to Pearl's room.

After several minutes of failed attempts of starting the generator, one final tug is all it took for it to kick on. Onniks then took a break resting on the log, waiting for Garnet and Pearl to return.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, the two finally arrived. Garnet tugged along several sheets of plexiglass that were secured together with a mechanical strap. Each sheet had the same design on them - a translucent pink obtuse triangle on the very edge with a translucent light blue chevron pointing at the triangle. Garnet unfastened the stack and leaned it up against the outside of the cave.

Pearl, however, brought along a dolly that was transporting various appliances - a space heater, an air conditioning unit, a long light fixture, several extension cords and two surge protectors. She also had a backpack slung over her shoulder, but since the bag was closed, the contents of it remained undetermined.

"Garnet, Onniks - thank you both for your assistance" Pearl spoke as she placed the backpack on the ground. "Go ahead and wait for me in the house - it'll be a while before I'm done here"

"You sure you're not gonna need an extra pair of hands?" Onniks asked.

"Nah" Pearl answered as she mildly shook her head. "Besides - there's some large sheets of plexiglass out there that I'll be handling, and I don't want anyone accidentally getting hurt"

"As you wish" he replied. "We shall meet you inside when you're finished, then"

With that, Garnet and Onniks leave together towards the house while Pearl commenced with her project.

As the two waited inside for nearly a couple hours, passing the time away by watching some movies on a local TV channel on the holojector, Pearl finally entered the house.

"At last - the room's complete. I would have been done sooner, but all that anger and ranting was driving me bonkers" Pearl replied.

"Was that project giving you that hard of a time?" Onniks asked,

"What? No - I was talking about Peridot. She wouldn't leave me alone for five seconds so I could finish. She kept on rambling on about how one of the games at the arcade kept robbing her of her money or something, and just wouldn't stop talking about it"

Pearl then sat down on one of the chairs in the living room to begin her break.

"So - you guys ready to take a look at it?" she asked.

"With Peridot still out there? No way" Onniks answered. "I'd sooner retake my chances with Meddio"


	13. Appreciation

A half hour had passed since Pearl had noted Periodt's presence in the tunnel. Assuming Peridot had already left, Onniks picked up his tablet and headed outside, wanting to both observe Pearl's craftsmanship, and to do some doodling in the tunnel in some fresh air.

As he looked at the entrance, he noticed the familiar plexiglass sections that were connected at the front: the two pink triangles merging together to make a single parallelogram, and the two blue chevrons pointing towards the center. As he approached the entrance, the two plexiglass sections spread open like a doorway, and a long metallic plate filled the gap of the plexiglass door at the bottom, preventing anyone from stumbling across it. Looking up, he noticed a black box with a faint red light emitting from it.

"Huh. Automatic sliding doors" Onniks thought to himself. "That's... actually a good idea"

Once inside, he noticed that the log was still in the same spot, which he didn't mind at all. The space heater and the air conditioner remained sitting on the log unplugged, and a light fixture remained secured at the top of the tunnel.

At the far end, a second set of plexiglass doors muffled the sound of the generator behind them. From the generator, an orange extension cord was connected to it, and appeared to have been funneled underground a little to avoid the automatic door and out the other side undisturbed. A surge protector was fastened to the extension cord, and the lights and the black infrared detectors were attached to the surge protector.

He then grabbed the space heater and placed it on a spot in the ground that triggered the infrared sensor to the main entrance to keep it opened while he sat on the log and enjoyed the breeze, with his tablet sitting next to him.

As he was basking in the silence, Pearl quietly made her presence known.

"So... whatcha think?" she asked as she sits on a part of the log a little of half an arm's length away from Onniks.

"I like it" he replied as he scanned the interior once again. "I really like it. Granted - there's a couple odds-and-ends missing, but they're not really that important, save for one"

"Oh?" she pondered. "And what would those be, out of curiosity?"

"Well - a mini-fridge of sorts would be nice, so that way I could keep some drinks cold out here and I would't have to wake anyone up in the middle of the night getting something, but as I mentioned - that's really not important at this time"

"I see. I can definitely see the logic in that, but unfortunately, I don't think we have one of those - sorry"

"It's okay - really. It's not that big a deal"

"Very well. Was there anything else?"

"Just a bed, or a cot or something"

"We... -do- have a cot, but its only made to fit someone about Steven's size..."

As the two sat idly by thinking of a solution, after several moments, Onniks came up with a plan.

"I got it!" he replied.

"Got what?"

"I think I can solve the bed issue"

"And what exactly do you propose?"

"Follow me"

Pearl then followed Onniks to the rear of the tunnel, where on the side of it, he created a doorway with the signature red outline that led to the same Homeworld-style room as before.

"We'll use THAT bed" he replied as he pointed to the bunk beds at the far end of the room. Closer inspection had shown that three of the four corners of the upper bed were connected to the frame below, but the fourth corner was unsupported.

Pearl then approached the bed and gave it a couple taps on the frame, observing the sturdy-sounding echo.

"You think it'll be alright to take it?" she asked.

"I don't see why not" he replied. "I mean - we did take the holojector out of here, and somehow THAT got duplicated back here, so I suspect we could do that with other parts of the room as well"

"Well, If you say so... Alright - I'll be back with some tools, just hang tight, okay?"

Onniks nods in confirmation as Pearl jogs out of the room.

After a while of waiting, Pearl returns, carrying several tools in her arms: a ruler, a trowel, a marker, an extension cord, a reciprocal saw, a small spool of solder, and a mini-blowtorch. As she set the equipment on the lower mattress, she asked Onniks for a little assistance.

"Could you give me a hand on this part?" she asked.

"Sure! What's up?"

"Could you help me remove the top bed frame, please? It's gonna be in my way when I cut off sections of these posts. You should be able to just lift it up and move it - its lighter than what it looks"

"Not a prob - gimme one second" he replied as he stood on the side of bed frame without support

Pearl then took her position on the opposite side and counted off.

"One, two, three and liiift!"

On Pearl's signal, they removed the bed frame with a little more effort than anticipated and leaned it against the closest wall in the room.

"Okay, that'l be all for now" Pearl commented. "I can finish the rest myself - you can sit back and watch if you want'

"Alright, but could you do me one small favor?"

"Which is...?"

"Please bring me my tablet sitting on the log outside. I'd do it myself, but if I leave this room, it'll close behind me and restore the room to its previous condition - which means we'd have to do everything over again"

"I suppose you're right on that. Okay - I'll get it. I gotta go out there anyways since I have to plug in the extension cord to the reciprocal saw"

Pearl then left the room once again, taking one end of the extension cord with her. Mere seconds later she returned, passing the tablet to Onniks, which he thanked her for afterwards.

As Pearl was busy fiddling with the frame, Onniks scooched back on the large bed next to the wall away from Pearl, readying the tablet with stylus in hand. While she wasn't taking notice, he opened up a well-known drawing program and began sketching Pearl in action.

While he wasn't extremely good at sketching, he wasn't really bad, either. Several times he had to edit the picture due to distractions from the saw in the background.

Before he knew it, Pear had already separated the pieces from the frame.

"Alright - that'll be it for this part" Pearl spoke. "Could I trouble you for your assistance again?"

"Trouble me all you want" he joked as he got up from the bed.

He gathered the four sections of the post and placed them in his pants pockets to free up his hands while Pearl gathered up the tools she brought earlier. Both having one free hand, they carried the severed bed frame that was leaning on the wall out of the room, while the room's door closed behind them.

Onniks removed the sheets and pillow while Pearl takes possession of the mattress. Together, they set the bedding outside where there was less dirt. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, and the clouds were turning a few shades darker than normal orange. 

Once back inside the tunnel, Onniks set the tablet back on the log, removed the metal pieces from his pockets and passed them to Pearl.

"Thank you, Onniks - now I can finish everything from here" Pearl replied. "I don't mind if you watch, but I'm going to need some space"

"Awesome. I'll just sit right here, then" Onniks addressed as he took a seat on the log next to the tunnel entrance.

From digging four separate holes in the ground with the trowel to welding an extra leg on the frame to resetting the mattress, sheets and the pillow - Pearl was finished in almost no time flat.

"Not too shabby, if I say so myself" Pearl assessed herself as she plopped on the bed, lightly bouncing from the recoil. As she admired her work, she couldn't help but ask Onniks a small favor.

"Hey, uhh.. Would you happen to mind if I just lay on the bed for a few minutes? It's... been a while since I got to enjoy some Homeworld furniture"

"No, not at all" he answered with a smile. "Take all the time you want"

"Thanks, Onniks" Pearl replied with exhaustion as she snuggled up on the bed, with her knees pulled upwards and her hands across her chest. "I'll just... *yaaawn* be a... few... min..."

Pearl fell asleep almost instantly before she could finish her comment. As Onniks glanced at her, he couldn't help but stare in adoration as she slept so innocently.

Now couldn't have been a more perfect time.

He reclaimed the tablet and began sketching a new picture, but this time taking more consideration to detail as he copied the image. After several minutes of editing and staring in the screen, the brightness was straining his eyes a little, but pushed through it to finish the picture - he wasn't sure if he'd get this opportunity again, so he made use of what time he could.

Once he finally finished, he saved the image and set the tablet down on the log and looked outside - it was already night time, and Onniks hadn't even noticed. This night, however, seemed a little more surreal to him, with the cool breeze enveloping his body, and the abundance of stars scattered across the sky.

Onniks was then starting to feel fatigue settle upon him. He could have decided to sleep on the couch again, but after all the trouble Pearl went through today - that would have been quite disrespectful. Instead, he opened a portal inside the tunnel that led directly inside the house and peeked inside - it was rather dark at this time of night, despite there being so many stars in the sky.

The only source of light he had was the tablet, so he decided to take the risk and see if it actually managed to fit it his side pocket, which it did - barely. He then approached the sleeping Pearl and ever so carefully scooped her up and carried her inside the house through the portal, gently placing her on the couch.

As he stepped away from her, he noticed a white sheet of paper on the table in front of the couch with his name halfway splattered on it. He picked it up and read the note on the other side:

"Onniks-

My Future Vision had informed me that you'd be here carrying Pearl to the couch, so I left this note ahead of time.

I've decided to cancel your grounding of Mountain Mist ahead of time, seeing as how you've not only been though enough punishment already, but also how you've helped Pearl with her project.

There's a two-liter in the fridge for you already. It should be nice and cold for you by the time you get this note. Enjoy.

-Garnet

P.S.: Lapis had to help me write this note. I broke three pens just trying to write your name"

He placed the note back on the table and headed towards the fridge. Along the way, he noticed his guitar case and mini amplifier conveniently placed on the kitchen counter in front of the fridge - as if someone had known he was going that direction anyways. He slung the case over his shoulder, placed the amp in his pocket and proceeded to open the fridge, where is ice-cold beverage was awaiting him.

"Thank you, based Garnet!" He thought to himself as he grabbed the bottle and headed towards the still open portal.

However, just before he passed through, a blue flicker shone in his peripheral field of vision. He placed the guitar and two-liter on the floor, glanced in the direction of the light and noticed Pearl doing something he'd never imagined: she was emitting a projector-like image from her gem, which was being displayed on the staircase wall.

As he viewed the cinematic projection, he noticed that the images being displayed were her memories, seeing as how he saw himself in some of them.

This moment was another opportunity that was too good to pass up.

He pulled the tablet from his pocket and laid on the tabe next to Pearl, activating the pre-installed camcorder application on the tablet and began filming every second of the projection. This continued fro several minutes until Pearl's projection finally came to a stop.

As he closed the camcorder app and placed the tablet back in his pocket, he got up from the table and approached the portal - only to notice Garnet and Lapis standing next to it, widely grinning. Garnet looked at Onniks and pointed to the portal, signaling him to go through. Onniks nodded in confirmation, retrieved his guitar and bottle and followed Garnet and Lapis through, closing the portal behind him. Once they were a safe distance from both the house and Pearl, Lapis became the first to lose her composure.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH! Onniks, that was the most adorable thing I have ever seen in my life!" Lapis squealed as she squirmed with her hands clenched next to their respective shoulders.

"*sigh* Okay, okay, you got me" Onniks moaned. "You're probably gonna find a way to hold this against me, right?"

"Of course not" Garnet answered. "Of course - we will tease you about it in private - but it's not like we're gonna blackmail you or anything"

"Soooo...?" Lapis asked Onniks. "How long has this been going on?"

"How long has what been going on?"

"You know? Your feelings... For her..."

Onniks then sat on the bed that Pearl had created mere hours ago and reminisced about that day.

"...Since the very first time I saw her - the day I first arrived in town. The way she was dancing in the sand... She looked so beautiful... She still IS beautiful, but everything she's done only reinforced that. Not to mention how intelligent and crafty and versatile she is... Simpy put - she's amazing"

"So, when are you gonna tell her how you feel?" Garnet asked.

"What are you - crazy!?" Onniks replied harshly. "She'd hang me upside down from the roof and pretend I'm pinata! You seen how she reacted towards that mayor guy - there's no telling what she'd do if I pulled something like that!"

"The difference between you and the Mayor is that while the Mayor is an annoying pest that only sees Pearl as some sort of trophy, you - on the other hand - see her as a talented individual that's capable of great things"

"Yeah, you... got a point, there... *sigh* Alright - I'll tell her. I just... need some time. This isn't exactly easy for me, you know"

"Understood" Garnet replied. "But could you give us some assistance back to the house? It'll be less racket than going through the front door"

"Oh - yeah, sure. One sec"

Onniks then spawned a portal that led back ito the living room, which Garnet and Lapis traveled through, then waved Onniks goodbye afterwards.

As the portal was almost finished closing, Garnet looked at Onniks one last time for the night.

"Good night, lover boy" she whispered with a smile as the portal came to a close.

"Stupid 'last word' Garnet - always having the last word and stuff" Onniks spoke to himself as he laid down on the bed with the tablet beside him.

As he covered up the top half of his body with the sheets, he skimmed through the pictures again on the tablet and found the one of Pearl sleeping. He pressed the tablet against his chest and snuggled it with a smile on his face as he slept peacefully through the rest of the night.

Early the next morning, a crisp breeze woke Onniks from his relaxing slumber. As he checked the tablet, he saw that the screen was black, but the light on the power button was blinking - luckily, the device had a stand-by mode that he completely forgot about.

He grabbed the tablet, got out of bed, and walked to the entrance of the tunnel,, where he witnessed a type of sunrise he hadn't gotten the chance to see in many years.The clouds were a mix of purple and blue, with a cherry red sun peeking over the horizon. However, there was one extra element that made this scene very special to him.

Pearl. She had risen a bit earlier than Onniks and partook in her weekly morning dancing exercise next to the ocean on the gold-tinted sand of the beach.

Onniks then ran a picture-taking app on the tablet and took aim at Pearl - still dancing in the sunrise.

"Oooone more for good measure" he spoke to himself.

*click*


	14. Misunderstanding

After Onniks had taken the snapshot of Pearl dancing in the sunrise, he didn't notice that he'd laid back down on the bed and fell back to sleep. This was only made aware to him as Steven had woken him up by nudging his foot.

"Yo, Onniks!" Steven addressed.

"Huh?" Onniks replied groggily. "Oh - hey, Steven. What's up?"

"Sorry for botherin' ya. Just wanted to see if you wanted some breakfast today. Pearl made a bunch of-"

Steven's comment came to a stop as Onniks eagerly flung out of bed hearing Pearl's name, hiding the tablet on the way up.

"Well then - what are we waiting for!?"

Onniks then sprinted off down the beach with Steven trailing behind him, too excited to utilize his portal.

Once inside the house, he noticed that the normal table in the living room had been replaced by a larger rectangular one. Garnet was sitting at one of the far ends of the table, and Lapis opposite of Garnet. Amethyst and Connie were placed on the side closest to Steven's room, along with one empty chair between Connie and Amethyst that was meant for Steven. Peridot was sitting on Garnet's left, while two empty chairs to the side of Peridot remained reserved for Onniks and Pearl.

The amount of food prepared for breakfast this particular day wasn't anything abnormal, as it was Pearl's usual method, however the gathering of everyone around the table was quite out of the ordinary. Only four plates had been set on the table for Amethyst, Steven, Connie and Onniks, as the other Gems had no need to consume food.

Steven and Onniks had sat down at their obvious spots, and moments later Pearl had arrived with the last plate of food - a stack of freshly-made pancakes, which she placed in the center of the table and assumed the remaining vacant spot at the table next to Onniks.

Onniks - being the gentleman he typically is - decided to let the kids get their fill of the food first as he waited his turn. While his attention had been temporarily diverted due to observing the rest of the food on the table, Amethyst grabbed a handful of pancakes and placed them on her plate, leaving only one pancake left from the entire stack for Onniks - which he snagged and placed it on his plate.

"Amethyst" Garnet criticized "You didn't have to take that many pancakes"

"Whatcha talkin' about, Garnet?" Amethyst replied as she drowned her stack of pancakes with the already near-empty bottle of maple syrup.

"*sigh*... Never mind"

"So... what exactly is this all about?" Peridot asked Pearl. "Usually, you don't go through all this trouble just for breakfast that you never eat"

"I... don't honesty know" Pearl answered. "I'm feeling really good today for some reason, and I just wanted to share it - why, is that so wrong?"

"No, of course not. It's just that... it's so 'out of the blue' - no one was expecting this"

Garnet, however, was skeptical of Pearl's intent. While she couldn't tell whether or not Pearl was outright lying, she was able to use her Future Vision to see if Pearl had any ulterior motives planned - but nothing had shown up. Pearl was telling the truth about the breakfast.

Using the only pancake he obtained, Onniks grabbed some sausage patties and diced them up with a fork on the pancake, then spread some scrambled eggs afterwards.

Meanwhile, as Onniks was serving himself, Connie's cell phone began to ring.

"Hello?" she answered the person on the other end of the phone. "... Yeah, she's right here, actually... Sure - one second"

Connie then handed the phone over to Pearl.

"It's my mom - she said she wanted to talk to you directly for a minute"

Pearl received the cell phone and excused herself from the table, speaking to Ms. Maheswaran with some privacy.

"Hello?... Oh! Hi, Ms. Maheswaran! How is everything?... Sure, I can spare a few minutes - is there a problem?"

As Pearl was talking on the phone, Onniks folded up his pancake like a taco shell with the eggs and sausage enclosed in it, and excused himself as well.

"Sorry to eat and run - gotta charge the tablet. If I don't save what I got on there, I'm gonna be uber mad at myself. Tell Pearl I said thanks for the breakfast, please? he requested as he spawned a portal to the tunnel from the living room.

As Onniks' portal had closed behind him, Pearl's phone call had come to an end. She handed the cell phone back to Connie and explained the situation.

"Your mother had just informed me that she and your father will be going out of town for a few days" Pearl spoke. "She was invited to a medical seminar and was able to take one guest. Since you were already here, she requested that you remain with us until then"

"Stupid seminars" Connie replied somberly. "Been to two of them already - bored me to sleep both times. At least now I'm someplace I actually like"

Meanwhile, Onniks had put his tablet back on the charger and moved the saved images he had of Pearl off the main screen and into a separate folder. He placed the tablet on the log and connected his guitar to his mini amplifier, playing familiar songs by memory as he waited for the tablet to charge.

Onniks had completely immersed himself in his guitar practice - so much, that he had lost track of how much time had passed. As he set his guitar aside, he went to see what time it was, only to find out that it had been replaced with a note.

"Onniks-

Didn't wanna disturb ya when you were zoned out on your guitar, so I left this note instead.

Pearl just wanted to borrow the tablet for a few minutes - said something about checking out the 'hardware specifications'? Whatever that means...

Anyways, she said she'd return it as soon as possible, so don't be alarmed.

-Steven

P.S. - Amethyst drank some of your soda to wash out all the syrup she guzzled from breakfast earlier"

After he read the note, he went searching for the bottle of soda that Amethyst drank. With the tunnel as small as it was, it didn't take him long - it was tucked away under the bed, nearly empty save for about a glass of soda left. He then tossed the bottle back under the bed in disappointment and sat on the bed with his knees close to his chest.

"Lousy Amethyst - gotta be drinkin' all my stuff" he pouted. "Now what am I supposed to drink - water?"

A few moments later, Pearl and Garnet arrived through the front entrance of the tunnel, with Pearl seeming irritated.

"So... I wanted to save a screen shot of a device I found online in its default location, but when I went to name the pic with my name, there was already one with my name there. So, as I went to see what the pic was, that's when I found this"

Pearl then held up the tablet with the picture Onniks had saved of Pearl dancing in the sunrise, then continued to swipe the screen to the images of her sleeping and dismantling the bed.

"Are - are you seriously stalking me" she demanded as she deleted the pictures Onniks saved, then tossed the tablet next to Onniks.

"What? Of course not! I'd never do such-"

Onniks' comment was cut short as Pearl interrupted him.

"Don't even - just... not another word... *sigh* I swear - at least Rose had common sense when it came to privacy..."

"Wait - who's... Rose?"

"I'll tell you later - once I've regained your trust. For now, just - mind your own business"

"Pearl" Garnet intervened "don't you think you're being a bit too overreacting?"

"Overreacting?" Pearl asked. "Just look at him" she replied as she pointed at Onniks, who had his arms wrapped around his knees and his face tucked iside. "See? It's obvious he knows he messed up. At least Rose-"

"Seriously, Pearl?" Garnet interrupted. "You're gonna bring up Rose again?"

"You bet I am! She was the epitome of respect - if she'd be here right now, she'd be a great role model"

As Pearl stormed out of the tunnel, Garnet stopped her for one final comment.

"Don't go too far - we WILL continue this discussion shortly"

"G'uh!" Pearl grunted as she continued towards the house.

Garnet then sat next to Onniks to try to console him, however he was jittering with a bit of nervousness as sounds of muffled sobs can be heard. As he leaned back up, it was clearly obvious how distraught he was over the situation as he had a difficult time stopping his tears from coming down his face.

"I... I screwed up, didn't I? I had to have..." Onniks criticized himself.

"Of course not - don't be ridiculous! Pearl's just being irrational about everything"

"She is right, though, about respecting her privacy. I should've asked first"

"Pearl... isn't used to people doing nice things for her. She views it a someone being intrusive"

"And the way she speaks so highly of this... 'Rose'... It's obvious how she's the only thing that matters to Pearl... I... never had a chance, did I? D'agh - I'm so stupid! Why didn't I notice this before?"

It was at that moment Onniks felt a horribly sharp pain in his chest, as if someone had detonated a firecracker from inside his body.

*C-C-C-CRACCKK*

"D'AAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Onniks cried out as he leaned on his side away from Garnet and clenched the center of his chest.

"What - what is it? What's wrong!?" Garnet frantically asked.

"I'm *cough* fine... *wheeze* really..."

Garnet, however, was in no mood to deal with Onniks' stubbornness - especially right now. She rolled him on his back and lifted up his shirt, revealng a dark-colored gem about the size of a fist at the bottom of his sternum. The problem that Garnet noticed was that the gem itself had been severely cracked, with a few shards missing from it.

"Care to explain this?" Garnet demanded.

Onniks then carefully leaned himself back up and pulled his shirt back down.

"I will, on *wheeze* one small condition"

"Which is...?"

"You don't *gasp* tell anybody else about this. The last thing I need is *pant* the entire house making a commotion over this"

"That - we both can agree on. Now - an explanation"

"Alright... My aunt... on my father's side... She'd tell me stories about my mother... who was a gem, herself... She said that my mom... was inflicted with a curse a long time ago... that was to be transferred to me... The curse was that... each time I experienced heartbreak... my gem would crack a little each time... depending on how severe the heartbreak I felt was"

"I'm so sorry that you have to go through with this" Garnet replied with a saddened tone. "Tell you what - just lay back down and rest - I'm gonna go back and have that talk with Pearl, alright"

As Garnet finished her comment, she left the tunnel and returned to the house, while Onniks laid back down to conserve his strength.

Garnet then entered the house through the front door, where she noticed Pearl sitting on the couch, solving a crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

"Good - you're still here" Garnet spoke. "Now we can continue that talk"

"I don't see what else there is to discuss" Pearl replied as she put the newspaper on the table in front of her.

"What you just did outside was completely unacceptable. Onniks just wanted to do something nice for you, and you went and automatically assumed that he had the worst intentions"

"Didn't he?" Pearl replied. "He could've asked me before doing something like that. If Rose were-"

Garnet then immediately stopped Pearl mid-sentence.

"That's another thing - you need to stop using Rose as a scapegoat for your problems"

"But you should already know by now how much she means to me. If she-"

At that moment, Garnet sat on the table in front of Pearl and stopped her comment once again.

"Now listen to me - and listen real good: This obsession with Rose has got to come to a stop. You keep reminding us on a regular basis on how much you love her, but have you ever stopped to consider whether or not she loved you back?"

"Of course she has!" Pearl answered. "All the time!"

"No she hasn't" Garnet replied. "She respected you - she respected all of us. But has she ever reciprocated the feelings you had for her to you? Think about it - If she really did, then why was she so head-over-heels for Greg instead of you?"

Just then, a sudden burst of realization had filled Pearl's thoughts.

"Are you telling me I should forget about her? I can't do that..."

"That's not what I'm saying at all" Garnet answered. "Let me finish: No one's saying you should forget her. t's perfectly natural to keep her memories alive within our hearts, along with all the knowledge and wisdom she taught us - but right now, there's someone outside that's trying their best to show how beautiful a person you are"

"...You mean Onniks?"

"Mm-hmm. I don't think it was ever his intention to take Rose's place in your heart - but rather to give back the same feeling that you wanted Rose to do"

"*sigh*... You know - truth be told? I thought those pictures he had were absolutely stunning. But as soon as I saw them, thoughts of Rose had crossed my mind, and soon I was thinking how wrong it was that he didn't ask first..."

Pearl then had another shock of reality as she remembered what she had done.

"I... deleted them" Pearl spoke as tears filled her eyes and her hands cupped over her face. "I took something away from Onniks that was meant to be so beautiful - and I completely destroyed them - AND his feelings! Garnet, I'm such a terrible person!"

"That just means that you need to sever the feeling that made you do that in the first place"

"But the whole time, I was thinking about Rose..."

"Then you need to get rid of that part. Like I said - No one's forcing you to forget about her or what she taught us, but you DO need to get rid of the guilt behind it"

Pearl then stood up and hugged Garnet for comfort.

"You're absolutely right. I'm so sorry for being such a pain in the neck - I don't know how you deal with me"

"Hee hee hee" Garnet chuckled. "It just comes with experience"

"I.. I gotta go talk to Onniks and try to make amends. I just hope he'll forgive me"

As Pearl was on her way out the door, she was greeted by a dark mist seeping through the door, which took the form of a silhouette shortly afterwards.

"I'm looking for the Crystal Gems" it spoke. "Where may I be able to find them?"

Pearl and Garnet then summoned their weapons and took position in the center of the living room in a moment's notice. Then, without a single hesitation, Steven, Peridot, and Connie all lunged from the top section of the house, while Amethyst and Lapis entered the room with the warp pad.

"Well you found them" Garnet answered. "Now - what do you want?"

The silhouette raised its hand with the palm facing everyone and gently shook its head.

"Please - I do not mean you any confrontation. I am only a messenger" it replied.

The gems lowered their guard, but kept their weapons on hand.

"What message do you bring us?" Garnet asked.

"Due to Meddio's failure, Siddian will soon be here to finish where Meddio let off"

"Who is this... Siddian?" Garnet questioned.

"He is currently a prisoner in Yellow Diamond's confines - charged with directly assaulting Homeworld. He was offered a plea deal - to stand against the Crystal Gems in return for his freedom"

"And when is he scheduled to arrive?"

"In about a couple Earth hours. Homeworld has pinpointed the homing signal coming from Meddio's pod when he came back to Earth the second time. That is where Siddian's destination will be"

"One last question: How did you know we were here?"

"I only had general information of this location - that your base was located on a beach here. However, I confronted a young human who was dwelling in a man-made cave close by, and he informed me of the location here. He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, though - after I gave him the same message, he told me to look for you then suddenly vanished without saying a word"

With the message delivered, the silhouette then dissipated as fast as it arrived.

"Are you kidding me!" Pearl screamed. "Onniks intends to fight Siddian by himself? We had a difficult time with Meddio, now we gotta deal with the reinforcements - which is who knows how much stronger..."

Pearl then began pacing back and forth nervously.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't treated Onniks the way I had earlier, he wouldn't have wanted to face that thing by himself"

"Pearl - concentrate!" Garnet addressed. "Whoever is at fault for anything doesn't matter - right now, we need to rendezvous with Onniks"

Garnet then turned her attention to Lapis, giving her a separate set of instructions.

"Lapis - I need you to stay here if Onniks happens to show back up here, and try to keep him here until we get back"

"I understand" Lapis confirmed. "I'll just wait on the couch until then"

"Good. Alright, Gems - Let's head to Greg's shop - we'll need the van again if we're going to catch up with Onniks in time"

The Gems then bolted out the front door, up the hill next to the house, then down the street with the fast food restaraunts - no one stopped until they finally noticed Greg, who had just finished up with a customer's car wash.

"Greg - we need to use the van again" Garnet requested.

"This... seems rather urgent" Greg replied. "What's going on?"

"Remember where you dropped us off at when we went against Meddio?"

"Sure do - man, that was one crazy cat, I'll tell ya..."

"We need to get back there, like - yesterday. There's a new, more powerful threat arriving there soon, and Onniks is gonna try to fight him alone"

"Geez Louise - that's not good! Alright - Everyone hop in!"

As everyone piled in the van in a hurry, Greg started the van and floored the pedal, pushing the van to it's limit as it sped down the street.


	15. Confession

The van ride - which would have normally took an hour and a half - reached the outskirts of the city in about forty minutes. The Gems then jumped out of the van like a band of mercenaries-for-hire, ready to strike at any second. Garnet then turned her attention to Greg.

"Alright - we don't know how dangerous this'll be, so just make sure you're a good distance away from here. We'll contact you once everything's settled here"

"Understood! Oh - and Steven?" Greg spoke, switching focus to him.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Just... stay safe, will ya, son? You know how much I still worry about you"

"I will, dad - don't worry. Besides - there's still the Gems and Connie here as well, so we all have each other's backs"

"*sigh*... Alright, just... give me a ring once this is over - I'll be in the next town over just in case"

"Alright, dad. Catch ya later"

As Greg drove off, the Gems then began their search for Onniks. It was then that Peridot made a rather unique request to Steven.

"Listen, I... I think you should hurry up and fuse with Connie. Not only will we be able to move faster on ground, but also be prepared when that Siddian thing shows up. Besides - you two have more combat experience as Stevonnie than Tourmaline, so you'd have a more fighting chance like that"

"But what about you, Peridot?" Steven inquired.

"Don't worry about me - I'll be fine. I did serve under Jasper and Yellow Diamond, after all"

"*sigh*... As much as I hate to admit it" Garnet moaned "I... *shudder* agree... with Peridot. You two should hurry up"

Connie then approached Peridot nervously.

"Peridot, I..." Connie spoke "...Thank you. This means a lot to me"

"Well - whatever. Just... get on it, will ya?"

Hand in hand, the two children fused into Stevonnie in a hurry. As soon as their fusion completed, a rustle in the grass was heard close by. As the group investigated the sound, that's when they found Onniks staggering past them.

"Hold it right there!" Garnet scolded Onniks. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"It... should be obvious..." Onniks slowly answered. "I'm just... meeting and acquaintance... You know... in the middle of a prior aftermath..."

"Not by yourself, you're not. You're not gonna run off by yourself like you did the last time - we're going with you whether you like it or not"

Not having any strength to argue, Onniks had no choice but to comply. The group then continued forward, taking detours through alleyways off the main road towards Meddio's wreckage.

Along the way, Onniks leaned against a broken brick wall clenching at his chest, barely breathing and struggling to stand. The group stopped for a couple minutes to check on his condition.

"Hey, Onniks... uhh... is something wrong?" Stevonnie asked.

"I'm... fine..." Onniks barely answered. "I... just... *gasp* need a... couple... *gasp* minutes..." he continued.

"That's a load of bull!" Amethyst butted in. "You look like a total hot mess! Seriously, what's wrong?" She asked.

"I said.. *wheeze* I'm fine" Onniks somewhat replied. "Let's just *puff* keep going...". 

At that moment, Garnet approached him.

"You're lying" She scolded.

The group looks at her in confusion. At that very moment, Garnet grabbed Onniks' shirt and ripped it in half, revealing the cracked gem on his chest. Spider web fractures outlined the flawed gem, and small pieces of the gem had broken off. Everyone was astonished that Onniks had become so fragile. Stevonnie looks to Garnet with sorrowful eyes.

"Garnet" she addressed. "Was... was this Future Vision that told you about this?"

Garnet answered her question as straight forward as normal.

"No. He wanted me to keep this a secret from everybody because he didn't want to concern everyone with his deficiency".

As she continued talking, she looked at Onniks, speaking directly to him. 

"You have to tell her". 

Onniks - broken and in shambles - replied to Garnet.

"...I... *huff* I can't".

"Tell. Her. Onniks".

"Please... No... I just..."

"You're going to die if you don't tell her. You know that, right?"

"I'll...die faster...*gasp* if she...*puff* says no..."

"*sigh*...You're so completely hopeless..." 

At which point Pearl encroached to the left of Garnet and intervened in the conversation.

"I-I-I- I don't understand - who is this 'she'?" Pearl asked. 

Garnet placed her left hand on Pearl's back between her shoulder blades, and in an instant, gave Pearl a quick shove in Onniks' direction. As Garnet began to step away, she turned her head towards Onniks.

"There. Now you don't have a choice" she finalized and proceeded to walk away. 

As Pearl stared at Onniks hoisted against the wall, she tried her hardest to fight back her tears. She gently grabbed Onniks' right hand and proceeded to talk to him to help keep him conscious.

" *sniff* Please, just... tell me" Pearl spoke."What...what do you need to tell me?" she asked as she wiped away her tears.

"I just... need to *wheeze* tell you...something important". Onniks answered. "Imp- *cough* important... for me... *huff* anyways..."

Pearl slowly approached Onniks and continued to converse with him.

"T-take your time, alright?" *sniff* "Just say what's on your mind". 

"It's just...*breathe* for the longest time... *pant* I've.... been in love with you *cough* ". 

Hearing that response, Pearl shook her head rapidly in a sense of denial.

"Nnnno. No no - there's something else" She responded " *sniff* Otherwise you wouldn't have waited so long. Please *sniffle* tell me".

"...It's just..." Onniks responded with what little strength he tries to conserve."I know...how much you *huff* love Rose, I...". 

Pearl - fueled by her love/hate rage - grabbed Onniks by the two halves of his torn shirt and pushed him against the wall he was leaning on.

"This?....THIS is why you waited so long!?" she asked. "Are you out of your gemforsakened mind?"

"I'm...sorry..." Onniks apologized. "I didn't...want to *breathe* intervene..."

Pearl's anger became slightly more intense.

"Intervene?...INTERVENE!?" she yelled. Her right eye twitching as she tries to fight her emotions, she repeatedly threw Onniks against the wall while continuing to yell at him. "ARE *thud* YOU *smack* STU- *whack* -PID!? *bash* "

"Pearl! Stop it, already!" Amethyst screamed, breaking out in tears. "Can't you see-"

She tried to continue, but was quickly interrupted by Garnet placing her hand on Amethyst's right shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Amethyst.. Don't worry" Garnet spoke.

Amethyst shook her head in uncertainty.

"But Garnet, It's Pearl! She's...she's gonna..." Amethyst responded with tears filling her eyes.

"I know how you feel, Amethyst" Garnet reassured as she continued. "We know Onniks is going through unimaginable amounts of pain right now, but remember - this is Pearl we're dealing with. We both know she wouldn't hurt her friends with ill-intent. But look - look at what's going on right now".

As Amethyst glanced over, she noticed that Pearl has slightly calmed down and has stopped bashing Onniks against the wall.

"Do you see what they're doing now?" Garnet asked.

Amethyst replied with a simple head shake.

"The're doing what they should have a long time ago - they're connecting. Connecting at an emotional level that words cannot describe. Very similar to what Rose and Greg experienced." 

Amethyst's curiosity piqued.

"But THAT time, Rose and Greg were trying to attempt fusion, which is impossible for Gems and humans" Amethyst pointed out.

"True" Garnet confirmed "But remember - Onniks is a hybrid - he's half gem, like Steven".

"That's true, but look at him" Amethyst replied, referring to Onniks as she spoke "He can barely stand right now, let alone do a fusion dance".

Garnet pulled Amethyst closer to her. 

"As you know, my Future Vision sees possibilities - not guarantees" Garnet responded. She smiled and continued "Have faith in your friends - give them time. I am certain good things are about to transpire".

Amethyst nestled her forehead into Garnets waist and mumbled "I hope you're right". 

While Garnet and Amethyst were having their conversation, Pearl was continuing to give Onniks a piece of her mind.

"You're right - I DO love Rose. I loved her with every fiber of my existence" Pearl said, giving Onniks an earful. "But guess what? Rose is gone. And she isn't coming back - ever. I've grown to accept that" she paused as she tried to fight off her tears. "But I know...I know she still lives on - through Steven". She dropped to her knees and and grasped his pant leg as she continues; her crying has subsided, but her sadness still remained. "...I love you. I love you so much, it hurts".

Onniks was taken by complete surprise by those three small words he wanted to hear for so long. Those three words to him felt like a cool breeze after a rainstorm; his pain resided, and while his breathing still wasn't perfect, he was able to take small breaths without gasping for air. He slid down the wall he was leaning against and sat on the ground

"....Wait....what...? You mean you-..." Onniks shortly spoke, still in shock after hearing Pearl's confession. 

Pearl dragged herself on the ground to Onniks' right side and curled up next to him. She wrapped her left arm around his right; their palms touching each other as their fingers slide between each others', pulling herself closer to him as she rested her head on his shoulder. In a sorrowful tone, she continued.

"You're a genuine idiot - you know that, right?" She carried on, but this time her tone changed to that of happiness and relief. "...But you're MY idiot. And I want you to continue being my idiot - even until time itself comes to a screeching halt".

Hearing those words gave Onniks a tiny boost of energy. A second cool breeze blows and fills his body full of serenity.

"Hmhmhmhm- hahahahaha.... Yep... Once again... you're right - about... everything" Onniks happily acknowledged. "I'm... a certified... idiot. I neglected... to take your feelings... into consideration. I was... selfish. I... should've realized them...earlier... I'm sorry".

Pearl chuckled with glee as she gently clutched onto his arm, but the suddenly stopped with a blank expression, realizing that she remembered something important.

"Y-y-y-your gem - your gem!" she exclaimed. "It's - it's shattered! I-I-I don't know how to fix it! I'm sorry!" she frantically apologized.

Onniks carefully shook his head.

"Don't ... worry... about it" he reassured. "I can... still fix it... I just...need a source of... negative... energy,,,". 

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments trying to figure out where to find that source, then suddenly Pearl offered her suggestion.

"...Use mine" she offered.

"...Wai-what?" Onniks asked.

"Use my negative energy" she answered. "I know I've got a ton of it pent up for several millennia - you'd be doing us both a favor"

"I...don't know... I've... never absorbed... energy from a... sentient gem... before..."

"Right now, you don't have a lot of options. So just shut up and do it, already" Pearl demanded with a smile on her face.

"Alright... alright... you win" Onniks surrendered with a grin. "Just a... fair warning... though. This'll... probably hurt. You'll... feel the energy...being siphoned... from the inside." 

"I'm willing to take that risk for this occasion" she confirmed.

"...Alright.... let's stand up. It'll... help with... circulation".

Pearl nodded in agreement and assisted him to his feet. 

"Let me.. see your hands" he requested. 

Pearl accepted and held her hands out in front of her with her palms up. He then gently placed his hand in hers; their palms touching each others, and their thumbs interlocked, while Pearl blushed embarrassingly with a smile. 

"This process should...take about... twenty seconds. Are... you ready?" he asked, and she gave a simple nod in agreement.

"Yeah. No time like the present, right? she answered. Onniks smiled and nodded in return.

"Alright... Here... we go" he confirmed. 

He started the process by first closing his eyes and steadying his breathing. Moments later, a few veins began turning black, starting from his damaged gem, then extending down his arms and into his palms. A brief pause occurred, then the veins in Pearl's hands began to blacken. Her arms, torso, then face soon followed. Once the black veins stopped spreading, Pearl's eyes turned white, and seemed to be unresponsive. Various areas of the veins then began to swell up and moved down to Pearl's hands, into his own body, and into his gem - similar to the flow of slow boiling water. 

As the negative energy was being absorbed from Pearl, her appearance began to slightly change. Her hair began to change color - from peach to a fiery orange. Her bangs also have extended down to her cheekbones, whereas the length of her hair in back had extended down past her shoulders; But the most notable change was the modification of her signature gemstone - from its traditional off-white color, to silver with a prismatic glint.

The extraction continued for about ten seconds, then the black veins retracted out of her body and back into his gem. Pearl's eyes that reverted back to normal and regained consciousness. Onniks pulled his hands away from her, signaling that the extraction is complete; the outer layer of his hands emitting a light green aura.

"D-did it work?" she asked. Onniks - momentarily stunned by Pearl's minute transformation - shakes the daze out of his head and answered her. 

"Y-yeah, just... Just a few more seconds..." 

As the final vein retracted into his gem, a black glowing orb began pulsating on his chest. The pulsation took longer than anticipated, but eventually swelled down. His gem had been restored, except this time the gem appears to be more... cleaner. Glassier, and darker. The mist coming from his hands instantly ignited, burning with a flame the same light green color as the mist. Pearl then became concerned that his hands just suddenly were set ablaze.

Once the siphoning process finished, Pearl became concerned about a small detail about it.

"Hey, Onniks? I got a question about this, if I may?" she asked.

"Uhh, sure. What's up?"

"It's just... well... If you're able to heal yourself with this method, why didn't you just use it earlier and avoided all this?"

"Oh. That's because I actually can't just use it any time I want - certain conditions have to me met first before I can"

"Certain conditions? You mean such as being eight breaths away from kicking the bucket because half of your gem has crumbled?"

"Yep! I know this out of experience - this has happened to me before"

"Oh my gem... But... when...?"

"Mmmm... about twelve years ago. It was at a middle school I went to. Told this one girl I had this crush on how I felt about her".

"Oh, my - that's so adorable!"

"Pfft - yeah. So adorable that she laughed at me in front of her preppy friends and called me a 'freak'. Ironic thing was that she didn't even know about my gem. Anyways, since my gem was more fragile back then it shattered easily. I ran outside to the back of the school, put my palms on a tree and buried my face in the back of my hands in shame. Next thing I know, the veins in my arms and hands turned black, started spreading out into the tree, then just started... absorbing energy from it, and my gem was repaired pretty quickly".

"Oh, dear - I'm... I'm so sorry, I had no idea..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. No point in dwelling in the past, right?"

Pearl places the right side of her face onto his chest.

"...If you say so" she answered with a smile.

Garnet and Amethyst approached Pearl and Onniks moments later.

"Good job, you two!" Garnet praised as she approaches Pearl on her right. "Amethyst and I were just discussing the different outcomes of your success that my Future Vision predicted. I must say - you two done wonderfully - I'm proud of the both of you!". Amethyst shortly after came running in front of Pearl, opposite of Garnet.

"P!" Amethyst yelled excitedly. "That was too awesome! I can't believe you t-wooooaaahhh...." she gasped as she pointed at Pearl's face with her right hand; the fingers on her left hand lightly touching her lips.

"What?" Pearl asked. "Is there something on my face?" 

Amethyst replied with a slow nod, then moved her right hand away from Pearl and tilted her wrist up, displaying her index finger, implying that Pearl 'wait here'. 

Amethyst scurried away and began scouring the nearby rubble.After several second, she located what's left of a broken framed mirror, returned to Pearl and held it in front of her. 

As Pearl glanced at her reflection in the mirror, words completely left her as she was left in a state of utter shock; her face blushing nearly as red as her hair color. She quickly placed her hands over her mouth - one hand on top of the other, and rapidly glanced between the mirror and Onniks. Mirror, Onniks, mirror, Onniks, mirror, then finishes at Onniks .

"Did you...?" she began to ask Onniks as she moved her hands from her mouth to her chest, her hands curled up next to each other. "Did you know about this?"

"Hehehe... yeah." he replied as he scratches at the back of his head with his left hand. "I noticed it during the siphoning phase. I was gonna surprise you with it later, but Amethyst beat me to the punch" he answered. 

As Amethyst heard herself be called out on, she bit her bottom lip, acknowledging her mistake and nervously scuttled behind Garnet in a poor attempt to make her presence less known. 

As Pearl was staring at Amethyst in disappointment, she looked back at Onniks, and a thought about the siphoning process quickly went through her mind.

"Uhh... Onniks? Yeah, um, about you hands... Why... did they... just spontaneously combust like that?" Pearl asked nervously while twiddling her thumbs near her chest.

Onniks studied his hands for a second, then answered her question.

"Huh? - OH! That would be the destruction of the negative energy".

"...But I thought you needed negative energy to restore your gem?" she asked.

"Eeehhh, well, that's true to an extent" he hesitated to answer. "What my gem actually needs is the darkness attached to it to heal itself. It's just that negative energy is easier to tap onto" he continued. "The nerves in my hands filter the energy from the darkness, which in return cleans the darkness, becoming a mass of nothingness; a void, if you will. Similar to... floating in outer space. Except that there are no stars or planets or anything - just... you. Floating in a pitch black vacuum of nothing. Some of the energy escapes through the pores of my skin - which was that misty aura you saw - and the veins in my hands carry the darkness associated with the negative energy directly into my gem - not only restoring it to its original structure, but also compressing the darkness already inside it. And the more it compresses, the stronger my dark magic becomes".

"Yeah, well - that's great and all with your scientific-y mumbo-jumbo" Amethyst chimed in "But in case you'd forgotten, Siddian's gonna be here any minute now, and we DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME!"

"She's right" Garnet confirmed. "Onniks, do you think you have enough of that dark magic accumulated to defeat Siddian?" she asked. 

Onniks thought to himself momentarily, then came up with an idea.

"...No, I don't" he answered. "Not by myself, anyways".

Pearl was puzzled by what he might be thinking.

"Whaddaya mean 'Not by myself'?" she asked. "What in the wo-whoa-whoa-ooooaaa-" 

Before Pearl could finish, Onniks runs off, tugging Pearl by her left hand to a wide-open field close by. 

"Oooo....kay...?" she asked nervously. "What are we doing here?"

"We don't have much time, right?" Onniks asked.

"W-well, no... We don't. Why" Pearl followed with her own question.

"Well, I'm gonna make some!" he answered.

As Pearl observed his actions quizzically, Onniks kneels down and placed his right hand close to the ground, conjuring a black orb between his hand and the ground. As he released his dark magic into the ground - with black streaks spreading away from his orb, he quickly stood up and a large black dome, roughly 15 feet tall, encompassed them. 

As soon as they were engulfed in the dome, lightning and thunder began flashing and crackling across the sky. The clouds in the sky began to draw towards each other. Within moments, a large ominous black sphere, roughly 25 feet wide, began to descend from the gathered storm clouds. 

As it continued to approach the ground, it began changing shape in mid air. First, it started to stretch out, taking the form of an ellipse; its convex perpendicular to the surface. Shortly afterwards, five protruding figures came from the ellipse - one pair close to the top, giving the ellipse a "T"-shaped appearance, another pair came from the bottom, parallel to each other, and the final sprouting from the very top, vertical from the ellipse. As the figures finished extending from the source ellipse, they - as well as the ellipse itself - immediately began to change into a defined form - equivalent to a humanoid torso, hands, arms, feet, legs, neck and head; its entire body glittered like the vastness of space itself. The only feature that stood out was its blood red eyes. Despite its overwhelming mass, it touched ground like a falling feather. It waited a few moments, observing its surroundings.

From the time the black orb entered the atmosphere, to its completion of its polymorphing process, Garnet, Amethyst, Peridot and Stevonnie remained steadfast - only out of complete fear. 

Onniks and Pearl were still enveloped in the black dome, not knowing of the events transpiring on the outside. 

Peridot then looked at her left wrist, imagining a watch strapped on it.

"Well, would you just look at the time!" she spoke while she tried walking away. "If we leave now, we can catch the last half of the Crying Breakfa-HUAGH!" She was interrupted by Stevonnie with a tug at Peridot's shirt.

"I give you an A for effort" addressed Stevonnie. "But WE - and yes, that includes you - aren't going anywhere. We're gonna find a way to beat this".

"Ugh...Okay, fine" Peridot replied. "But if you're wrong, you owe me a soda".

Amethyst, however, wasn't as subtle to voice her opinion on the situation.

".....Are you KIDDING ME!?" she cried. "That!? THAT is Siddian!? Does anyone else see that thing? Look at that compared to us! We don't have a snowball's chance of beating that! GAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!"

"Calm down" Garnet replied. "Remember when I said good things are about to happen?"

"Y-yeah, so?" Amethyst answered. 

Garnet placed her right hand on Amethyst's shoulder, and without even saying a word, she don's a wide, teeth-bearing grin and points to Onniks' dome - which started emitting a white light through some cracks in the black dome, then suddenly shattered as a white dome twice its size took its place.


	16. A Little Closer

As Onniks and Pearl remained confined in the black dome, Pearl was utterly speechless as to the surroundings: a dark tinted shield with a smoky envelope, and the ground from which the dome came from. She cuddled closely to Onniks' side in fear, observing out of the shield that everyone outside of it doesn't appear to be moving.

"Where... where... wherewherewherewhere are we? What's going on? Why is there no one moving out there?" Pearl frantically asked, hugging Onniks' arm tighter with each question. 

Onniks answered in reassurance.

"Relax! relax. Everything's alright.... Remember when Amethyst brought up the fact that we don't have that much time left?"

"Ye-yeeeaaaahhh,....so?" she replied.

"This... field we're in? Took me years to perfect" he explained. "The reason why everyone appears to not move outside is because that we're moving so fast in here, that it only looks like they're moving slow. This area that we're in now has the ability to warp time itself; while everything outside is moving at normal time, everything in here is moving at an exceptional rate - for every second that passes out there, a minute passes in here".

"Wai-what!? That fast? That's... one two three... Sixty times faster than real time!" Pearl was flabbergasted.

"*sigh*... I know its a lot to take in, but..." Onniks paused as he hugged her from behind, his arms crossed over, caressing her upper arms and his chin on her right shoulder. "...I just wanna stay like this - just for a little longer".

Pearl blushed with a sad expression and placed her hands on top of his.

"...This... does... feel really nice, actually" she said with a cracked smile. "I see why we're in here now". She slowly spin around in place and reached behind Onniks, gently puling him closer to her. "It... almost makes me not want to leave this spot - ever".

"Neither do I" he replied as he began combing her hair with his left hand. "There's still a thousand thoughts going through my mind right now - about you.. and I, and our future together".

"I know exactly how you feel" she responds."I've been feeling the same ever since I confessed my feelings earlier". She paused, then let out a sad sigh. "....We... can't stay here. As much as it pains me to admit that, we both know it's true".

"...Yeah.... I know." he replied. "I just... wanted to connect with you more at a deeper before... you know..." Pearl replied with a simple gentle nod.

"Then let's make the most out of the time we have left" Pearl spoke.

"...Aaaand... how... do... you... suppose... we... do... that...?" Onniks asked with a smirk. 

Pearl smiled happily at him in embarrassment and tears starting to fill her eyes. She slid her hands from his back to his chest while stepping away from him, her fingers sliding off his chest as she moved away slightly beyond her arm's reach. As she took a couple more steps back with her arms still extended, with a quick and fluid motion, she shifted her body to her right; right leg stepped slightly forward, torso leaned back, her left arm kept down with the palm facing the ground, and her right hand extended in the air.

"Dancing is a form of art..." Pearl began to lecture, with a downward left swooping motion of her right hand as her body rotated to her left, right leg over the left one, then a nimble leap, pushing off with the right leg while the left leg extended forward, then landed with a quick right/left step, then finished with her left leg extended vertically, grabbing onto her toes with the respective hand, leaning backwards slightly for balance as her right hand curled upward over her head in a semi-circular fashion. 

"...A form of art that conveys a story of emotion through combinations of body movements and poses..." She continues, as she then lowered her leg, taking a couple of steps towards Onniks with a generous leap in the air, shifting her body to the right as she performed a 540-degree pirouette, finalizing her sequence with her back on Onniks' chest as her left hand caressed his face, and her right clenched in his, respectively. 

"...Share your story with me".

Onniks was struck dumbfoundedly as he stared in awe, stricken by Pearl's alluring grace. For those few second, he felt a sense of warmth - a feeling of appreciation that he never experienced before - pulsating from his heart. 

Face flushed in embarrassment, Onniks replied "...Well...as much as I'd like to write a best-seller novel with you" he paused as he rested his chin on Pearl's right shoulder, his left arm reaching across her waist and lightly grabbing her right hand, "Unnnfortunately. if dancing was equivalent as to telling a story, then MY dancing would be like a toddler scribbling on walls".

"Pfff-hahahaha!" Peal let out a hearty chuckle. 

She immediately spun around, grasped his left hand with her right, and placed her other hand on his back near his shoulder blade; Onniks placed his right hand on her left shoulder out of instinct.

"It's alright, I'll show you. Just do exactly as I do, alright? Watch me - 1,2,3,4..."

Pearl began tapping the ground with her toes in sync with the pace of her counts, and Onniks immediately copied. 

"Good!" Pearl smiles. "Now - cross your foot over like this and step over" she said as as she slowly crossed her left leg over her right, then right leg behind her left. Onniks mirrored her movements soon after. 

"Excellent!" She exclaimed in glee. "Now - let's do the same thing in the opposite direction". 

Onniks nodded in agreement and proceeded to mimic her every step. Along the course of the tutorial, however, Pearl inspected her surroundings and felt something was out of place.

"You know..." Pearl pondered. "...I just realized... This would be easier if we had some form of rhythm to move to". 

Onniks reflected on her statement for a moment then came up with an idea.

"....I think I got juuuust the thing" Onniks replied. 

He loosened his right hand from Pearls grasp and channeled an orb into his palm, and with a couple swooshes from his wrist, a portion of the surrounding mist condensed and took the form of a solid black speaker resting on a tripod. As soon as he dispelled the orb and re-secured his hand with Pearl's, the speaker began to play a random B-rated classic love song. As Pearl and Onniks returned to their dancing tutorial position, they both then started to blush and then suddenly burst out laughing hysterically in embarrassment.

"Really, Onniks?" Pearl questioned with a light chuckle. "You just HAD to do that, didn't you?"

"Wai-what? That's not MY fault" Onniks giggled. "Thing has a mind of its own - I don't judge".

"Oh, pfff-whatever!" Pearl smirked. "Let's just continue, alright?" 

Onniks nodded, then resumed the techniques.

As second passed by outside the dome, minutes passed inside. With each passing song, Onniks gained enough confidence and experience to take the lead. Every beat that took note in the songs, their hearts synchronized to not only the song, but to each other's. Each note; each heartbeat. Each melody; each pulse. Every second of every song they slowly connected each other to, seeming as if they were slowly becoming one entity. 

Suddenly, the speaker started to play a very familiar song to Onniks. His cheeks turn light red, and switched from the stance he started with to up close to Pearl. He ran the fingers of both hands through her hair and stopped at the base of the back of her neck.

"OH!, Hey heyhey hey...What...What's going on?" Pearl nervously asked.

"....Remember the time that Steven took my tablet so you could check out the specs on it, but ended up finding those pictures I had of you that you deleted?" he asked.

"Hmhmhmhm...Yeah. I do". she answered.

Onniks brought the dance to a halt. He slowly moved his head from Pear's side to the front, just immediately to the left of Pearl's gem, their noses touching at the sides. 

"....This... was one of the songs I was covering on my guitar then". he stated.

"O-OH! Oh, my" she replied, with rosy smile and a tear in her eye while nibbling her bottom lip. "This song, it's... so lovely... *sigh* I'm... I'm sorry I did that to you. I never meant to hurt you like that"

"Don't worry - it's alright" he replied. "Besides - sketched images just don't compare to the memories I'll make with you here in my arms right now. Not to mention that I also don't have to worry about my gem-"

Before Onniks could finish his comment, Pearl interrupted him with her index finger on his lips.

"Not another word. I know what you're going to say" she said. "Just know that... your suffering is now at its end" she added. She gently touched each side of his face and states "...Let's put an end to this chapter, shall we?"

"...I know I've already said this, but it just feels to good not to" Onniks said to her, with one final finger comb through her hair "...I love you, Pearl". 

"...I know." Pearl responded with a glistening tear running down her cheek. "I love you, too".

As their hearts beat furiously; passion - like wildfire, Pearl encroached onto Onniks, her lips meeting his. At that moment, time itself seemed nonexistent. It must have seemed a lifetime has passed without notice between them. Then, without even a warning, a change began taking place between them - a type of change that seemed almost indescribable. 

Their bodies began to turn into silhouettes of white light, which the two then merged into one, becoming a translucent white ball. Their gems, connected to each other by a bolt of blue lightning, started drawing together like magnets, which they themselves changed as well, but the object's appearance was blurred due to the white light. 

The amplified power of the white orb forced itself to swell up, reaching the edge of the black dome, but even that wasn't strong enough to containing it. The increasing pressure from the white orb forced the dome to chip and crack away; beams of white light seeped through the fractures. The dome's structural integrity has now been compromised - it had no choice but to succumb to the light.


	17. Showdown

As the large white dome maintained its enormous mass for several moments, it then began to narrow down, starting from the base and and continuing upward, thinning itself to a pillar. The light from the pillar then began fading away, revealing a new humanoid figure. As the light continued to fade from the silhouette, even more features of the humanoid were revealed - a tall, slender, voluptuous, light-skinned female; her hands extended towards the sky. At first glance, the woman had one defining characteristic: her color scheme, which consisted of white and black, with traces of a dark metallic silver. Despite the woman's basic style of attire, her pants, eyes and hair were the most elaborate.

Her shoes were a simple pair of black high tops with white laces. 

Her pants started off first as a pair of roomy thigh-high shorts. The left side of the pair were white, the other side black. From the cuffs of the shorts, several silver colored straps extended downwards from its respective leg. weaving diagonally into each other.

From the straps. an additional part of the pants attached at the bottom of the straps, starting halfway down her calves; where they ended was a little difficult to determine, as they were crunched up on top of her shoes. Aside from that, the colors of the bottom part of the pants alternated from the top - black on the left, and white on the right.

Her tops consisted of two parts: a black, tight-fitting t-shirt, which made her physique slightly more noticeable, and a white denim jacket with the sleeves stopping at the elbows, and the length of it stopping at the small of her back.

The length of her hair was that of nearly the same as where her denim jacket stops. It was pitch black, with streaks of white, and strands of silver.

Her hands were supported by a simple pair of black nylon gloves with the fingers cut out. 

She bore a pair of beautiful bright blue eyes, a set of flushed red cheeks, and a dark silver hexagonal gem embedded in the center of her forehead.

Her right hand slightly behind and below the left, she slowly lowered her arms down to her cheeks, caressing her face along the way as she smiles contently. From there she continued, her hands crossing paths at her neck, past her shoulders, then to the inside of her elbows. She hunched over forward a bit, as if she was in bearable pain. When she spoke, her voice sounded dual tone, as if it were a man and woman talking in unison.

"...Oh...oh, my" she spoke with blissful smile. "This.... warmth, this... love, and joy and compassion... It's... just too much to contain, I... I gotta share it. With everyone".

Familiar voices can be heard in the distance, making a slight ruckus. Peridot, too dumbfounded to form a coherent sentence, just kept pointing at her while repeating "Gia...gia...gia..."

Stevonnie however, was in a state of so much awe that she unfused back to Steven, who wore his classic wide smile and starry-eyed vision, and Connie, who ended up putting back on her fake glasses to make sure she was seeing everything completely.

"Gar, Gar, Gar Gar Garnet. Garnet" Amethyst kept repeating, trying to get her attention. "D-do you see this? Do you see what's going on over there?" Amethyst asks while patting on Garnets right upper arm, resulting in no response. As Amethyst looks at Garnet, she notices that Garnet wore the same beaming smile when Steven and Connie completed their first fusion.

Meanwhile, Steven runs up to the new woman, stuttering as he tried to address her.

"Gi...gi...gi..gian...giant.." he hesitantly replied.

"..A giant woman - yes, I know, Steven" She confirmed, her smile still unbroken.

"B-b-but... who ARE you?" he asked with his signature stare.

She looked below her to make sure no one is in her way and carefully sat down with her knees up, placing the left side of her face in her hoisted lap. With her smile still undisturbed, she gave the only one-word answer he needed to hear...

".....Hematite".

Connie approached Steven a few seconds later and addressed her.

"E-e-excuse me... I'm sure you're very glad to be here, but we have a *point* slight *point* problem" she says as she subtly draws Hematite's direction with her finger to Siddian.

As Hematite looked over, her joyous expression quickly changed to sheer resentment. She then stood up surprisingly unnoticeable, as if the weight of the world no longer held her down, and eyed Siddian.

"Get back... far back" she addressed the children. "This looks like it's gonna get real ugly, real fast".

"Yeeeaaahh.... Riiiiight" Steven confirmed. "...AlrightConnielest'sgo" he spoke in a hurry as he grabbed Connie's wrist, scurrying off to Garnet and Amethyst's location.

Siddian addressed Hematite, his mouth and jaw unmoving, as if he was speaking telepathically, yet aloud at the same time.

"You have impeccable timing" he spoke. "Your arrival shortly after mine... Almost as if it were fated to happen. Rumor has it that the remaining forces of Rose's army was too trivial and insignificant to be bothered with. I'm glad to see those rumors are completely false".

"Right. Well, since the formalities are over, why don't we get down to business, then?" Hematite replied. "Surrender now, and I just might send your mangled body back to your little 'prison warden' barely alive".

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen" he answered. "You see - I'm fighting for my freedom right now, and I simply refuse to let anyone stand in my way to accomplish that".

"Freedom? Weren't you imprisoned by the Diamond Authority in the first place because of the assault on Homeworld?"

"That would be correct. And as soon as I'm done here? I'm going back to complete what I started millennia ago".

"Wait... so you're gonna go back the Homeworld? Just to slaughter more innocent Gems? I won't allow that to happen!"

".....Like you have a choice".

Siddian finished the exchange of words with a quick dash towards her with a straight right punch towards her face, which was instantly blocked with Hematite's left palm; a brilliant rainbow light shone as Siddian's fist was pushed back.

"GGGG-AAAhhhghh!" Siddian yelled in agony.

As he inspected his fist, he noticed that part of his knuckles were missing. 

"No way..." he spoke in horror. "That's.... THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" he yelled as he attempted another 1-2 combo attack, only to have the same thing happen - his fists slowly diminishing.

Despite the amount of pain he was in, Siddian kept the barrage coming, and Hematite stood steadfast with every block. After several moments, Siddian lunged back away from Hematite to regains his breath. As he glanced at his hands once again, he noticed that this time - they were non-existent. In fact, half of his forearms were mere stubs. Engulfed in sheer terror, it was at that moment Siddian underestimated his opponent.

"Gggrrrr...." he grumbled as the muscles in his arms began to bulge. "....rrrrAAAAAGGHHHH!" he hollered as the stubs on his forearms began growing in length, restoring his arms and hands to their original condition.

While Siddian was distracted with his self-recovery, Hematite decided to take this opening for a counter-attack. As she stuck her right hand to the side, it became encompassed by a white portal, similar to Onniks' black version. After a moment of fidgeting around searching for the first object she could grab onto, an expression of 'gotcha!' lined her face as she pulled out a pearl-white electric guitar. Grabbing the neck of the guitar with both hands, she took a mighty swing and bashed the body of the guitar on the left side of Siddian's face, stunning him for a while.

"Y'know... I don't like the 'tune' of your voice, mister!" she retorted. "You're gonna grow up to be nothing but 'treble'. Seriously - you're so 'high-strung". As she drops the remains of the guitar from her hands, she finalized "Life's too short to be 'fretting' over the small things".

The Gems out on the sidelines could almost literally be heard laughing from a mile away to Hematite's terrible puns.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll be here all week!" she addressed the hysterical crowd with a bow at the waist and a wave of her right hand.

As Siddian recovered from his daze, Hematite switched her focus back towards him.

"You... Are SOOOO.... Gonna pay for that..." he threatened

As he kneeled down, he quickly shoved off the ground and leapt into the sky, hiding in the clouds. As he remained hvered in mid air, he placed his hands in front of his chest, palms facing each other - tilted at a 45-degree angle away from themselves respectively. a blue ball of static electricity starts forming between his palms, followed by a shadowed ball swelling inside it. After several seconds, the shadowed ball grew to the size of about as tall as Siddian.

"Grrrrr - EAT THIS!" Siddian shouted as he projected the huge orb on a rapid descent towards Hematite.

"...Okay - not good" she told herself. 

She stood perfectly straight towards the falling orb, with her hands clenched together in a unique fashion: The middle and ring fingers on both hands were tucked inside the fist, while the pinky and index fingers extended straight towards the orb, and the thumbs at a 90-degree angle from the index fingers. A small burst of energy emitted form her epicenter as she channeled it to her hands, her fingernails steadily glowing radiantly in the process.

As the orb continued to descend, the energy produced from her center of mass kept intensifying. As the large orb approached to mere feet from her head, she once again proved her timing perfection by extending her tucked fingers out and placed her palms flat together, then pierced the orb with her fingertips, stopping it dead in its tracks. The orb was then enveloped by a thin veil of white light, then began to rapidly shrink in size, down to a small ball that she held between her fingers. As she tried to put the orb close to her mouth, she hesitated reluctantly as she normally doesn't eat.

"....You know what?" she reconsidered. "....Why not?" she spoke aloud as she placed the orb into her mouth and swallowed, not even bothering to chew. Face full of embarrassment, she wrapped her arms around her waist and squirmed in delight.

"Mmmmm... Oh, man! That dark energy was delicious! Is this what I've been missing out on all these years?" she talked to herself, gleefully smiling.

As she was savoring the flavor of the dark energy, Siddian landed back on the ground, which gained her attention.

As Siddian leaned slightly forward, he took of in a full-blown sprint towards Hematite, while she headed towards him as well. However, as she readied her fist for an attack, Siddian vanished without a trace, and didn't hesitate for a second launching an unpredictable counter attack.

CRRAACCKK!

"D'AAUUGGH!" Hematite cried out as Siddian briefly appeared behind her, pushing her forward with an elbow strike between her shoulders.

Siddian's speed and ability to counter attack weren't to be taken lightly. He followed up his barrage with a combination of attacks, starting with a headbutt to her forehead that made her stumble backwards, a front flip kick to the center of her back which sent her airborne, and a dual hammer fist strike to her abdomen, forcing her back to the ground and leaving a small crater.

Hematite had not time to react to any of his attacks. All she was able to do was endure the pain for the time being. As she opened her eyes after landing back on the ground, all she had time for was catching a glimpse of Siddian kicking her in the rib cage as she then rolled along the ground, coming to a stop with the help of a wall from a previously demolished building.

To Siddian's surprise, Hematite stood back up, still retaining her cool and determined composure.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Siddian demanded.

"But mom! I still got at least ten more minutes of foolishness left!" Hematite replied while inciting a sarcastic tantrum.

Siddian extended his right arm perpendicular to his body, and within a blink of an eye, he conjured his sword: first, a purple wireframe outline appears in his hand where a weapon looks like should be, which was then followed by each side of the wireframe filling in with a black solid material. It revealed itself to be similar to an oversize single-handed kunai with a longer-than-normal blade, when compared to an average kunai.

"Ready yourself" he said as he pointed his sword towards Hematite.

She replied by simply holding up her left index finger, implying him to wait a moment. She reaches in her right pants pocket with her opposite hand and pulls out a pair of ear buds, placing each bud in a separated ear with the same hand. She then placed her hands in front of their respective shoulder and gave a single snap of her fingers simultaneously. 

The snap from her left hand activated a sound-activated MP3 player in her pocket, which the ear buds were connected to. The MP3 player began playing a fast-paced techno song.

The snap from her right hand summoned her weapon. A white portal in exact appearance to the one from earlier appeared on the ground, which launched her weapon from the ground. It was a ninjato-style nodachi, meaning that the entire weapon, which was taller than Hematite herself, was completely straight. It had a snow white blade, and a pure black hilt with a silver lace wrapped around the hilt.

She caught the nodachi in mid air by the hilt with her right hand and placed the back of the blade on her right shoulder. Despite its astounding length, the weapon handled rather well. She extended her left hand with the palm facing up, and with a couple flicks of her fingers, signaled Siddian to advance.

Siddian pointed his left hand towards Hematite with his fingers extended. Unexpectedly, hs fingers took a different form as they morphed into miniature versions of his sword. Without warning, the improvised daggers that protruded from his hand were shot at towards Hematite.

P-P-PA-PINK!

Hematite deflected all four projectiles with a single swoop from her weapon. Siddian then shot the daggers once again.

T-T-TI-TINK!

Siddian's attempt had failed once again due to Hematite's parrying. He then slightly modified his attack - instead of utilizing all four weapons at once, he extended the length of the blade on his index finger all the way to where Hematite was standing, gashing her right arm open as she didn't expect the speed of the blade to extend that fast, forcing her to drop her weapon on the ground.

He went for one more attack. Having reverted his fingers back to the shape of daggers, Hematite had assumed that he was going for the same method as before. However, with her sword on the ground, she didn't have the time to recover it - all she could do is guard her face and brace for the oncoming attack. As the daggers flew towards her, they suddenly dissipated in an instant. This rendered Hematite a bit concerned.

"Huh? A feint attack? But where-" Hematite began thinking to herself, until... 

SH-SH-SHA-SHINK!

"GAAAH-HA-HAAGH!"

The set of small blades that had disappeared had impaled Hematite in the back in a vertical line along the left side of her back, dropping her to her knees.

"That's the second time you fell for that kind of attack" Siddian battered. "I'm actually starting to have doubts about your abilities. Doesn't seem like this fight will take long at all, at this rate. But don't worry - I'll make sure your end is clean and fast"

"There's no way I'm gonna *cough* let a couple bee stings in the back take me down that easily" Hematite replied as she struggled back to her feet, grabbing her weapon and placing it back where it was on her shoulder originally.

"...rrrrRRRAAAHH!" Siddian yelled as he charged towards Hematite, swinging his sword form the right. But his attack was immediately deflected, as she, with her nodachi still on her shoulder, leaned to the left and slid it behind her neck and lightly stabbed the ground, blocking his attack and left him in a slight stagger.

Using the crook of the right side of her neck as leverage, Hematite grasped the hilt with her left hand and rolls the nodachi off her neck and into a downwards swinging motion. However, Siddian - quickly recovering from the stagger - blocked her attack by using the side of the blade of his sword, supported by his left hand.

"EUUUGGHH!" Hematite coughed as Siddian immediately delivered a stomp to her abdomen, sending her skidding fast along the ground. She dug her nodachi in the ground to help her come to a stop. She then removed the nodachi from the ground and with both hands, balanced it on the left side of her body and sprinted towards Siddian.

As Siddian analyzed her movement, he shifted his position to adjust to the oncoming attack. With his sword in his right hand and the blade pointed up, once again reinforced with his left, he took up a defensive stance by guarding the right side of his body, using the flat side of the sword. However, as Hematite closed in, he realized at the last moment that was a set-up, as she was too close to use her nodachi.

"ACHOOOUUGH!" Siddian choked as Hematite send a crushing blow into the center of his torso with her right fist, which gave her an opportunity for a quick plan.

First, she projected a neon green, laser-like oval from her gem past Siddian, growing in size the further it traveled. She then grabbed him by the back of his head with her right hand and acquainted his jaw to her right knee, sending him staggering a good step back, followed by a heel stomp to his chin with the same foot.

"If I'm gonna finish this, it has to be now - I won't get this chance again" Hematite thought to herself.

She replaced her right hand back on the hilt of her weapon, and with one fluid motion, lifts the blade up - severing Siddian's right forearm in half. As his right hand and sword both disintegrate; a white ring encircles Siddian's injured arm. She then pointed her blade downward and stabbed him in his right foot, preventing him from escaping. 

Hematite then removed her ear buds from her ears and returned them to her pocket.

"G-G-G-GHH!" Siddian gagged as he clenched his damaged forearm with his left hand. As he swelled up his muscles in his arm to regenerate like last time, he noticed that no matter how hard he tried, his arm wouldn't recover.

"Y-you... What did you do!?" Siddian sputtered. "Why won't my arm heal?".

"See that white ring on your arm?" she replied. "That's what stopping you. My nodachi? It has a special enchantment that prevents darkness from spreading".

Siddian eyed her in disgust.

"...If you think this little dilemma would kill me, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken".

"I'm afraid YOU'RE mistaken" she rebutted, which gave Siddian a confused expression. "That wasn't meant to KILL you - it was meant to DISTRACT you".

"Tch - D-d-distract me? From what?"

".....This".

SHIINK! 

"D'UUAAGH!" Siddian cried as a neon green bladed object similar in design to Hematite's nodachi sprouted from the center of his chest. From behind Siddian, a respective-colored holographic duplicate of Hematite pierced him without warning.

Hematite approached him and, with her fingernails lighting up once again, impaled his ribs with her fingertips.

"Gaaaagh! *gasp* *pant*" Siddian moaned. "...What? You *gasp* gonna absorb me? *pant* I'll just *huff* kill you from *puff* the inside..."

Hematite slowly shook her head a couple times in disagreement.

"...I have no intention on dying here. Not after all I went through to get here in the first place"

Hematite's gem began to glow a bright silver, and similar-colored traces emitted from the gem, down the side of her face, past her shoulders, and down her arms and hands. 

Seconds later, every vein in Siddian's body began to swell and turn white, including his eyes. The pain was too unbearable for him to endure; his speech was reduced to nothing but soft mumbles and groans.

Suddenly, every vein that was inflicted with the white light began to emit a lustrous white beam of light, which slowly began to spread out and engulf the darkness that was Siddian, leaving nothing of him left but a sphere of radiant light, which dissipated shortly after.

With Holo-Hematite's mission complete, she secured her holo-nodachi to her left side and gave a respectful bow to her master, then flickered away.

Hematite recovered her weapon, which was still stuck in the ground, and lunged it in the air blade first, being swallowed by the signature white portal.

As she approached the other Gems, she lifted her right hand and extended the index finger and thumb, rhythmically shaking her hand with a satisfactory smile. a moment later, she began to perform a small victory dance, similar to a retro-style street dancer. 

"Aaaahahahaw, yeah!" Hematite exclaimed. "Now THAT'S - how it's done!"

After a while, she came to a pause and gently sat next to a two-story abandoned building, placing her chin on the roof, and sighed in relief.

As the Gems ran to Hematite, Garnet secured Steven and Connie under a separate arm and jumped to the top of the building, while Amethyst grabbed Peridot by her waist and used her whip as a makeshift slingshot to propel the two to the top.

Steven and Connie, respectively, were the first to approach her, announcing their admiration in the middle of each other's comments.

"That was SO COOL! (And totally awesome!) The way you handled that was too fantastic! (Not to mention completely amazing!) *chatter* (*ramble*)..."

Hematite chuckled in amusement, listening to the children banter.

Peridot walked behind the kids and gently tugged at the back of their shirts, dragging them away from Hematite.

"Aw, for cryin' out loud, you two! Give her some space, will ya? Can't you see she's already been through a lot?" Peridot exclaimed, while Steven and Connie were continuing their non-stop praising.

Amethyst was next to express her feelings about the battle.

"That was -without a doubt - the best fight I have ever enjoyed watching from the side! The best part was when Siddian was all 'Blaaargh Eat this!' and shot that black energy thing at ya, and you were like '....'kay' and caught it and shrunk it with your light and you LITERALLY ate it! ...What it taste like?" Amethyst asked, smiling form ear to ear.

Hematite rolled her eyes up as she pondered the question for a second, then looked back at Amethyst and answered with a giggle.

"You know... It kinda tasted like dark chocolate - and to be honest, I'm ashamed of myself that I've been depriving myself of something so delicious all these years!".

Amethyst took a few steps back chuckling at her answer, as Garnet approached on the right side of Hematite, with Garnet placing her forehead onto Hematite's, while caressing a small area of it.

"...There are almost literally no words I can use to describe exactly how proud I am of you" Garnet softly spoke to her, as teardrops started dripping down her right eye.

"Thank you, Garnet" Hematite replied with a blushing smile. "But it is I who must thank you. If you hadn't shoved me - well, Pearl - to casue our... confrontation, odds are we never would have made it this far".

"...I can't take ALL the credit. You were the ones that put forth all the effort to make this happen - all I did was start the reaction"

"Heh... Yeah, you're probably right about that" Hematite replied. "....I... have a question, if I may"

"Go right ahead, sweetie - anything you need to know, I'll answer" Garnet addressed.

"This feeling... these feelings of love, and joy, and togetherness... Along with this sense of... Everything suddenly becoming so obviously clear..."

"Mm-hm"

"Since you're a fusion based on pure love, is... Is this what you experience as well?"

Garnet answered with another tear travelling down her cheek.

"Hm. Every. Waking. Second".

Hematite let out another sigh of relieving exhaustion.

"*yaaawn*... Can... Can I go to sleep now? As much as I enjoy being here, I'm dreadfully tired" she asked.

"Hehehe" Garnet chuckled.. "Go right a head, sweetie - sleep ALL you want. You totally deserve it".

As Hematite closed her eyes, her body reverted back to a state of light and condensed back into a small orb with the gem in the center of it on the rooftop. As the orb splits into two, the gem divides as well, and Onniks and Pearl returned to their previous form, still locked in the kiss that initiated the fusion - as if time itself came to a stop all that time during then.

Pearl removed her lips from Onniks' and proceeded to converse with him.

"Everything you did was magnificent" Pearl spoke with as much effort as possible. "It was... in...inde... scriba...." 

Before Pearl could finish, she passed out on Onniks' left shoulder.

"You were.... sheer... perfection, yourself" Onniks tried to reply. "There's... just... no... words...."

The encumbrance of fatigue fell upon Onniks as well. As the two newfound lovers toppled over, Garnet swiftly caught them in her arms before they were able to fall completely down.

"I'd say that's more than enough excitement for one day" Garnet spoke. "C'mon everybody. Time to go back home".


	18. A Brief Greeting

That night, Onniks once again had a difficult time sleeping. The repeated flashback of Siddian's merciless onslaught left him tossing and turning in bed. As he sprang up in cold sweat from his nightmare, he looked around himself and assessed his whereabouts - back in the manmade tunnel that Pearl had devoted her time and effort into making.

However, there was one thing that wasn't a dream: Pearl, laying sound asleep right next to him. As he lied back down, he wrapped his arms around her and tried to go back to sleep. As he closed his eyes, Pearl cupped her hand over his in comfort and smiled blissfully.

Later that day, as the sun began to rise, Onniks was once again awoken, but by the nudging of his foot. As he groggily glanced over, that's when he noticed her: a small, timid girl with blue tinted skin with grayish-white hair and a blue dress.

"Oh! Why, hello there" Onniks lazily addressed her as he sat up. "May I help you?"

"I had come to inform you that breakfast will be ready shortly" the girl in blue answered with a soft tone.

Hearing the girl speak woke Pearl from her slumber in a bit of confusion.

"Huh, wha...?" Pearl asked sluggishly. Once Pearl sat up and rubber her eyes, she looked at the girl and immediately identified her.

"Sapphire!" Pearl exclaimed as she slid out of the bed long ways and gave her a heartfelt hug. "It's been a while! What's the occasion?"

"We wanted to congratulate the both of you personally on not only your success on your fusion, but also the defeat of Siddian. He was a definite monster - good riddance to him. Besides, we did - as Garnet - tell Onniks that he'd get the chance to meet us if he was good, remember? He's earned that, I'd say"

As Onniks was getting up from bed and stretching his back, Pearl looked around the confined area as if something was missing.

"Wait... if you're here, then where's Ruby?" Pearl asked.

"She's being a stove top right now" Sapphire answered.

"I'm sorry, a-a stove top?"

"Hmhm - yep! Come - I'll show you"

As the three entered the beach house from the front door, they noticed in the kitchen another girl that Onniks didn't recognize. She was about the same height as Sapphire, with red-tinted skin, a maroon colored tank top with matching boots and headband, and a pair of burgundy shorts with a similar colored, square-shaped haircut.

She held in each hand a frying pan, which one was being operated by Steven and Connie who were making some scrambled eggs, and the other by Lapis - who was finishing up a batch of pancakes.

"Ruby!" Pearl yelled happily at the other new girl. "It's been a while - how's it going?"

In a sudden burst of excitement, Ruby flung the pans out of her hands and ran at Pearl, giving her a welcomed hug.

"Man, Pearl - that was one of the most awesome things I had ever seen in my life!" Ruby praised. "You were totally cool last night!"

"Hehehehe - thanks, Ruby" Pearl replied. "Come - lets go to the table, and I'll tell you all about it"

While Pearl and Ruby were still talking, Onniks walked towards the mess on the floor, looking at the slop with a saddened expression.

"No pancakes for Onniks again" he spoke miserably.

Lapis then gave him a comforting hug around his arms.

"It's alright" Lapis replied. "There's more on the table. You can have some of those"

As Onniks and Lapis looked at the table however, Amethyst confiscated the two remaining pancakes, layering them with scrambled eggs and sausage patties and a thick coating of maple syrup.

"Oooor... maybe not" Lapis finished.

Several minutes had passed by, and Onniks and Pearl were talking with Sapphire and Ruby about their experience of last night about Siddian and their fusion. Meanwhile, Steven and Connie were sharing a bowl of cereal and reading the comics section of the newspaper, Peridot was fiddling around on Onniks' tablet browsing the internet, Amethyst was still scarfing down the remainder of the home-cooked breakfast, and lastly - Lapis was sitting in silence, basking in the togetherness of the breakfast.

As Connie skimmed the other pages of the newspaper, she spotted something that was half a page in size and immediately approached Pearl about it.

"Umm, Pearl?" Connie stated.

"Yes, did you need something?"

"Well, I was wondering... Since I have only a couple more days here, I was wondering if we can go to this?"

Connie then handed the newspaper to Pearl and showed the page to her: an advertisement for a renaissance fair in Beach City Woods.

"I don't see why not" Pearl answered. "We haven't done anything together in a while with everything that's been happening lately. And besides - this looks like it could be fun. Anyone else wanna go?"

"Unfortunately, Ruby and I must decline" Sapphire politely rejected. "There's a bit of house chores that need to be caught up on"

"Aww, come on, Saph!" Ruby pleaded. "I wanna see someone get chased by a lion in the arena so bad..."

"...And that's the reason why you should stay here"

"What!? Why - whaddaya mean?"

"Because you're thinking of a completely different era"

"Tch-man... You're probably right" Ruby pouted. "I really wasn't ever good enough at geometry"

"I think you mean 'history', Ruby"

"BAH! This is what I'm talkin' about!" Ruby complained as she banged her fists on the table.

"Okay, i'll make you a deal" Sapphire responded. "The next time we fight another corrupted gem, I won't hold you back"

Ruby then sat back in her chair in victory.

"Okay - deal!" she replied with a smile.

"*gulllp* Is there gonna be any food, there?" Amethyst asked as she swallowed the last bit of breakfast on her plate.

"*sigh* Yes, Amethyst, there will be food" Pearl replied as she rubbed her forehead, trying to massage Amethyst's nauseating remark from her consciousness.

"Aww. yeah - that's what I'm talkin' about!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I am SO there!"

"I think I'll go, too" Onniks added. "Seems like a nice way to relax today, and besides - I gotta get to the food court before Amethyst beats me there"

"Yeah - me too!" Lapis continued. "There's no way you're leaving me behind!"

"So, that means everyone's in agreement?" Pearl asked everyone at the table.

The group nods their heads in agreement, except for Peridot, who didn't even pay attention at all as she had a pair of ear buds in her ears listening to some music on the tablet.

Onniks then had an idea. he showed a finger close to his lips to the group, informing them to remain silent. He then used two fingers to point at his eyes then patted himself on the chest, signaling everyone to watch him, to which they all nodded in confirmation.

Sitting at an angle at the table to which everyone was able to see, Onniks tapped Peridot on her knee to get her attention.

Peridot then looked at him sternly as if he had interrupted something important, waiting for him to say something.

Onniks moved his lips, not making a sound - giving off the illusion that Peridot couldn't hear what he was saying. 

[Hey - wanna go to the renaissance fair?] he lipped the words.

Peridot looked at him confusingly and removed her ear buds.

"What did you just say?" she asked.

[I said - do you wanna go to a renaissance fair?] he kept replying in silence.

Peridot stuck her fingers in her ears, assuming they were clogged.

"Will you speak up? I can't hear a thing you're saying" she replied.

Onniks formed a circle around his mouth with his fingers, giving off the impression that he was shouting something. He wasn't even trying make it look like he was forming coherent sentences at this point - just randomly moving his mouth.

Even more puzzled than before, Peridot bashed her palms on her hears, hoping to clear up any obstructions in her ears that weren't there.

"D'aaaggh! That's it!" she cried out, tossing the tablet on the table and headed towards the front door. "I'll be be back, I'm going to the doctor's office to get myself checked out - there's something seriously wrong with me"

As the front door slammed behind her, everyone at the table couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh about the incident.

"As amusing as that was" Pearl stated "we better get going, otherwise the fair will be too crowded by the time we get there"

With that, everyone agreed and left the table, exiting the front door.

"Hey, Onniks?" Sapphire spoke as he was about to leave. "Thanks for visiting us"

Onniks then turned around and gave a courteous bow to her.

"And thank you - and you too, Ruby - for taking the time to speak with us. Sorry I can't stay longer"

"Don't worry about it" she replied happily. "The Streams of Fate may split into different paths, but they all meet again in the Ocean of Life"

Onniks thought her analogy for a few moments.

"Huh... I think I understand" he replied. Thank you, Sapphire!"

Onniks then waved goodbye as he left the house.


	19. Renaissance Fair (Part 1)

After everyone hopped out of Greg's van at the entrance to the fairgrounds, Greg waved goodbye as he drove off.

The renaissance fair event that was being held was larger than what was originally predicted - mainly due to the volunteers of the larger neighboring cities. A couple dozen constructs of various sizes were scattered about, while crowds of people were roaming the area dressed in attire to the corresponding time era. It was still rather early, so more people were bound to arrive.

As they proceeded through the handmade town, the group spotted several fliers pasted on the outside of the stands - one of which caught Pearl's attention. As she was observing it, Lapis turned around while ahead of everyone and addressed them.

"Hey, I'm gonna go on ahead, alright?" she informed. "I wanna go see what kinda games there are"

"Oh - Alright" Pearl relied contently. "We are here to have fun and relax, after all"

Lapis then ran off around one of the buildings, waving bye as she turned the corner.

"I'd like to go to the arena myself" Connie suggested. "I understand the fact that we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, but I also think that watching first-hand combatives will help me later on in future conflicts"

"Well... you do have a point" Pearl replied. "But just remember that everything here is just a reenactment, so don't take everything here as-is"

"Understood - thanks!" Connie commented as she started running towards the arena, but stopped after a few steps and turned back around.

"Hey, Steven!" she addressed. "You comin'?"

"Well, yeah!" Steven replied. "Lemme get us something to drink real quick first, alright?"

"Sure thing! I'll meet ya at the arena!"

After their exchange in words, Steven and Connie ran off into the distance in separate directions.

Pearl, Onniks and Amethyst remained in what was left of the group. Together, they headed towards the food court, soaking in all the sights, sounds and aromas of the scene. However, as they were basking on the scenery, Onniks couldn't help but notice one detail that stood out from everything: a rather large person draped in a dark hooded cloak, which gave Onniks a devilish toothy grin as the person headed towards where Connie ran off to.

"Did anybody else see that giant monstrosity?" Onniks quietly spoke to Pearl and Amethyst.

"I know I did" Amethyst answered. "That was a definite ten on the creep-o-meter"

"It kinda looked like it went towards the arena as well" he continued.

"Wait... That means Connie..." Pearl replied. "Onniks - we should go make sure nothing happens!"

"Actually... I'll go ahead and check by myself" he commented. "Having all of us follow whoever that is in a group would look way too suspicious"

"Good point... Alright - we'll stay behind for now. Just let us know if things get complicated"

"Will do" he replied as he gave Pearl a light kiss on her cheek. "Stay safe yourselves, alright?"

Onniks then shadowed the huge stranger, maintaining a wide gap between each other as to not be so easily caught.

"So now what do we do?" asked Amethyst. 

"Hmm... Hold on a sec" Pearl answered.

She then went back to grab one of the fliers she saw earlier and shown it to Amethyst.

"We could pass the time away with this until then"

Amethyst then inspected the paper closer.

"Lessee... Archery contest... $3500 first place prize?"

"Uh-huh! We could use the prize money to resupply the house. Whaddaya say?"

"What do I say?' You ask? I say 'What are we waiting for!?"

Hand-in-hand, Pearl and Amethyst ran behind a building, where a quick flash of light emitted from where they were. Immediately, not they - but she - walked away from behind the building that Pearl and Amethyst hid behind.

A woman of immense height had emerged. She possessed a light purple skin tone, four arms, long off-white hair with twin pigtails, a green and teal drape with a yellow star at the bottom, a pair of purple pants, a set of yellow boots, and two gems - one on her forehead, and the other on the center of her chest.

As she made her way through the main road, taking precaution with each step as to not accidentally step on any humans, the entire crowd of people attending the fair couldn't help but gawk at the abnormally heightened figure.

She walked to the edge of the fairgrounds with the most open field where the archery contest was being held and approached the registration booth. The staff member running the booth, however, seemed rather lethargic - almost bored, paying no attention to whoever registered.

"*yaaaawn*... Name?" he asked.

"Opal" the woman answered.

"Opal', huh? That's a pretty name"

"*giggle* Thank you!" Opal replied with a smile.

"Do you have your own bow, or will you need one issued for today?"

"Oh - I have my own"

"Style and length?"

"Longbow - fifteen feet"

"Fifteen - wait, what?"

As the staff member decided to actually take the time to inspect Opal, he realized that she wasn't lying: There - stood a very tall woman, with four arms, two visible gems and a bow that was just about as long as she was tall.

"Aye aye aye aye aye" he stuttered. "Hold-hold one just ONE minute please, ma'am?"

"M'hm sure! No problem!" Opal replied as she nodded in confirmation.

The man at the registration booth left his area and spoke to another person inside the building next to the booth. Voices could be heard inside.

"Yeah, so Jim - question"

"Mmmyeeeesss?"

"Remember when you thought it was stupid of me to order those extra ballista bolts?

"Of course I do - seems like it was only yesterday... Oh, wait - it WAS yesterday"

"Well, you won't be laughing for long - look outside"

As Opal patiently stood at the registration boot, the two staff members gandered at her from a window in the shadows.

After several minutes, a pair of large doors opened up from the building that the two gawkers resided in. A horse-drawn carriage operated by the man from the registration booth slowly trampled out of the building, puling a cart transporting what appeared to be a quiver of oversized arrows next to Opal. Tied to each one was a light purple ribbon. He then dismounted from the horse and re-assumed his position at the booth.

"We had to make some... modifications... for your bow" he spoke. "But regardless, allow me to explain the rules: Each participant will be issued a quiver of ten arrows - color coded to help keep track of the score, hence the ribbon tied to each one.

The points earned are determined by which area of the target successfully hit: Red - being the bullseye - is worth ten points. Progressing away from the bullseye, starting with orange, is five points; yellow is three points, and white is worth only one.

The even will consist of two parts - the first being a stationary match between the participants firing five arrows down their assigned lane, and the second part taking place between the three top-scoring participants firing at a moving target in a shared lane.

However, the second half of the event will be slightly tricky, as each participant will have several opportunities to hinder their opponents by either knocking their arrow out of the air, or snapping the shaft of the arrow in half after impact.

Unfortunately - should you make it to the second round - due to the immense size of your particular set of arrows, we must ask you to refrain from doing so, as it will leave quite an unfair advantage to the others"

"Yes, of course" Opal replied. "I completely understand"

"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am" the man spoke. "One more thing: we have set up a customized lane and target for you further down the area"

"Oh - thank you! I apologize for any inconveniences"

"It's perfectly alright, ma'am! Just have fun out there today"

With a smile and a nod, Opal left the booth and headed towards her designated area. As she patiently waited at her spot, she was addressed by a familiar irritating male voice.

"Well - funny running into you here, of all places" he spoke.

Opal then looked behind her and noticed who it was that was speaking - a man wearing a pair of worn-out sneakers, khaki cargo shorts, a plain white t-shirt and a recognizable balding head.

"Mayor Dewey?" Opal replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Grandpa used to have an old farm house when I was a kid - every other weekend, I'd go out back and practice with a bow and shoot some old cans on the fence. I guess this is a way for me to reminisce. What about you, Pearl?"

Opal looked at the Mayor confusingly.

"How did you know who I am?" she asked.

"Oh come on, now. You think after all these years, I wouldn't recognize that beautiful gem of yours on your forehead?"

"I suppose you have a point - as obnoxious as it may be... Alright, I'll tell you what - If you make it to the second round, I'll tell you why I'm here. Deal?"

"Okay - deal" Mayor Dewey accepted.

By this time, all the contestants had took their places for their lanes. The contest was about to begin. There was an announcement made by the man from the registration desk as he walked behind the contestants.

"Today's tournament has now begun! Ladies and gentlemen: knock your first arrow..."

All the contestants comply. they ready their arrow and aim down their lane.

"...Now - fire your arrow, and repeat until all 5 shots had been released"

The sound of a multitude of arrows whizzed in the air as many of them hit their targets, a couple of them falling short.

Opal then aimed at her target. Since she was taller than the other competitors, her target was further down her lane.

THWOOOO-

THUD!

Opal hit her target with her first bullseye. However, due to the force of the impact of the modified arrow, the shockwave that projected from it had sent a staff member who was standing several feet away behind the target toppling over.

"Uh-oh..." Opal spoke quietly to herself.

The man at the target staggers back up, waves a hand signal informing that he was okay, and walked a safe distance away from the target.

"*whew*" Opal sighed in relief. Continuing from where she left off, she fired the other four shots in paced succession.

Bullseye.

Bullseye.

Orange.

Bullseye.

Opal's total score: 45 points.

The non-qualifying participants made their way off the field. Several of them accepted their loss graciously; others - not so much. One irritated man snapped his event-issued bow in half across his knee and threw the two halves down his lane.

As Opal observed the crowd leaving the area, she noticed that amazingly, Mayor Dewey remained.

As the staff rearranged the lanes for the second event, the three finalists - Opal, Mayor Dewey, and a young woman no older than Onniks, with long brown hair in a ponytail wearing a blue button-up long sleeve shirt, a black vest, black nylon pants, a purple knee-length denim skirt, light blue sandals and half a quiver of arrows with a green ribbon attached to them - all met at the center of the area.

"I'm sure you remember our deal, right?" the Mayor addressed Opal "That you'd tell me why you're here if I had made it to the second round?"

"*sigh*... I suppose I do owe you that much" Opal replied. "Alright. I'm here for Steven"

"You mean that young boy in the house on the beach?"

"That would be correct"

"But why? What does he have to do with this?"

"Not so much 'him', but rather his father. He's really struggling to help Steven right now, but he's too proud to admit it - so I'm here to help"

"You know - I was thinking about using the prize money to fix my campaign van" Mayor Dewey addressed Opal "but I think instead I'll treat us both to a nice fancy dinner - whaddaya say?"

Opal then sat on the ground in front of the mayor and gently placed one of her hands on his shoulder.

"...No" she replied casually with a straight face.

The young woman couldn't help but snicker at Opal's nonchalant rejection.

"What? Wha-why not?" he stuttered.

"Because - you're self-centered and stubborn. Not to mention that to this day, you still won't take 'no' for an answer"

The young woman then approached the group upon overhearing the conversation.

""Are you serious, ma'am?" she asked her question to Opal. "How long has Creepenstein here been doing this?"

"*ugh* For as long as I can remember" Opal answered slightly disgusted.

"What? Seriously?" the woman replied. She then turned her attention towards Mayor Dewey.

"You - are about to learn a quick lesson in both humility and know when when to quit while you still have the chance" she finished as she stormed away.

However, Mayor Dewey completely ignored her and continued his conversation with Opal.

"I'd like to make just one more wager, if I may?" he asked.

"*sigh* I rather you didn't"

"If I win today's competition, you must have that dinner with me: One night; just you and I; and no interruptions. How's that sound?"

"It 'sounds' to me like I need to click that check box that says "I do not agree to these terms and conditions"

Several moments had passed by, and the lane merging had been completed. The border of the lane had been outlined with several pairs of cinder-proof torches.

The man from the registration booth then stood in the center of the lane and made an announcement.

"Now, under normal circumstances, we'd have all three finalists share the same lane, however - Miss Opal?"

"Yes?"

"We apologize for asking, but we were wondering since due to lane restrictions, would you be willing to participate first solo?"

"Sure - I don't mind! I completely understand the situation"

"Thank you for your compliance, ma'am. Now, remember - the targets will be moving, so be sure to react quickly. Let's begin"

Opal then takes her assigned position on the field and readies two arrows, waiting for the targets to appear.

The first target made its appearance - one being pulled by a horse-drawn wagon. Opal knocked the arrows and, with a patiently timed aim, released the arrows upon the target.

TH-THUD

Both arrows hit the bullseye.

The man from the booth then quickly approached Opal.

"Excuse me, ma'am - I mean no disrespect, but what is it you're planning?" he asked.

"Decreasing time by increasing the number of arrows used per target. If I recall correctly, there was no rule against it"

"That... is true, actually. Alright - I'll allow it, but standard scoring calculations still apply"

"Understood" she confirmed with a simple nod as the man excused himself from the lane.

Opal then knocked an arrow and took aim down the lane, waiting for the next target to appear.

A light rustle could be heard from the trees, with a faint image moving through the treetops. A second later, the target appeared, swinging from the trees like a pendulum. Opal studied the target, then shot the arrow the first chance she got.

*THWOO*

As her arrow soared through the air, an unexpected mishap occurred: the branch that was holding up the target broke loose, unable to support the weight of the target. As the target fell, the arrow was sent flying further than expected far over the horizon.

"Uh-oh - bad thing, Opal!" she thought to herself, slightly frozen in fear.

Not wanting to risk sending anymore arrows that far over the distance, Opal knocked her remaining two and waited for the next target.

Using her peripheral vision, she saw the target moving in the trees in a downward motion. As it reached the ground, it rolled on a ramp, launching the target upwards.

With the target in the air, Opal leapt up and became airborne as well, firing her final arrows at the target towards the ground.

TH-THUD

The arrows safely secured the target on the ground, one hitting bullseye while the other hit the orange area.

Having spent her arrows, Opal removed herself from the lane and waited next to the registration booth.

"Oh - Miss Opal!" the man at the booth spoke. "Good thing you're here - we were gonna inform you later, but since you're here now, we just wanted to let you know that we've already tallied up your score and confirmed that you hit three bullseyes and one orange mark, totaling thirty-five points. However, due to the faulty equipment of the second target, we also decided to award you with a bonus ten points as an apology, making your score for this round forty-five points, leaving you with a grand total of... ninety points."

Opal was surprised about what she heard; all she could do was stand there and smile victoriously.

Next was the face-off between Mayor Dewey and the young woman. Neither of them had anything to say to each other. 

The two competitors' event started the same way as Opal's - with a horse-drawn wagon. They each knocked an arrow and fired at the target.

*fwip / fwip*

CLANK

Both arrows ended up colliding into each other before they reached the target. No points were awarded.

"Now - I know you did that on purpose" the Mayor accused the young woman.

"That was a one-in-a-million chance!" the woman defended herself. "There's no way I could've done that on purpose!"

The Mayor didn't believe her.

Once again, they readied their arrows and waited for the next target.

As it was the same as Opal's round, the target once again swung from the treetops. Mayor Dewey shot his arrow first.

*fwoop*

THUNK

He had hit the target in the orange area. The woman launched her arrow almost immediately after the Mayor's

*thoop*

SNAP!

The woman had snapped the Mayor's arrow in half, as per the rules allowed, while sticking her arrow away from the Mayor's by a mere inch.

"Now -that- was on purpose" she affirmed the Mayor, which only aggravated him further.

As they both knocked another arrow, the next target appeared; it was secured to the left side of a knight riding on an armored horse.

*thew* *thew*

Both arrows hit the target in the orange area.

"You know, I think I got a chance of winning this thing" the Mayor spoke, even though the woman was focused on the lane.

She readied one more arrow and waited a few seconds.

The horseback knight had made a U-turn in the woods and made a second pass; a second target was painted on his shield.

*thwoof*

THUD

The woman had secured a bullseye on the knight's second pass.

"Not by playing like that, you won't" she retorted.

The Mayor's heart sank, knowing that he missed an opportunity to gain some extra points. After some quick calculations, he realized: even if he were to score a bullseye on the next hit, he still wouldn't have enough points to win. He removed the issued quiver and approached the registration booth, passing over the bow and quiver.

"I forfeit the tournament" the Mayor informed the man at the booth. Without offering any explanation, he walked off the archery range in defeat.

The man at the booth couldn't shake the confusion that Mayor Dewey had just left without saying a word instead of accepting third place, but he had other matters to attend to. He grabbed a small locked metal box from under the counter of his booth and approached Opal and the young woman.

"Congratulations on winning the tournament, ladies!" he praised. "Now - it seems that since the third place gentleman had forfeited his place, we've decided to hand it to the second place winner... uhh..."

As the man looked at the list, he had to adjust the position of the paper a bit, as he couldn't read the name.

"I'm terribly sorry, miss, I believe my eyes might be going bad - I'm having a difficult time reading your name. It appears to be one huge scribble to me"

"Oh, uhh, that's because it really IS one big scribble, sir" the young woman replied in embarrassment. "I was in a hurry to sign up for the tournament - didn't think I was gonna make it in time - sorry, I'm rambling again. My name's Jessica Nightshade"

"That's a lovely name, miss Nightshade" the man complimented. "Anyways, here's both second and third place prizes for you: a total of one thousand two hundred fifty dollars"

He unlocked and opened the metal box in his possession, pulled out two manila envelopes that were secured inside, and handed them to Jessica.

"Sweeet. Now I can pay of the rest of my college tuition" Jessica replied in relief.

"And now - Miss Opal, here is your prize money as well"

Opal kneeled down on one knee and waited patiently as the man reached in the box. As she held out her lower pair of hands with the palms facing up, he placed a manila envelope in her hands.

"Thank you very much!" Opal replied grateful smile and a bow. "I'll definitely put this to good use"

"I've no doubt you will, ma'am!" the man replied.

Opal the stood back up and exited the archery range, with Jessica right behind her.

"Well - now that that's over..." Opal spoke to herself quietly. With a stretch of her arms and back, her body glown a white silhouette and reverted back to Pearl and Amethyst.

"What!? No way - you're two people in one?" Jessica yelled, startling both Pearl and Amethyst.

"I-i-i-it's not what it looks like - I can explain!" Pearl stuttered in shock.

"...I'd love to hear it sometime!" Jessica replied, overjoyed.

"Would you? Please?" Amethyst asked Jessica, nearly begging her. "I could definitely use a vacation from Pearl"

"Oh please, Amethyst - you know I'm not that bad" Pearl countered.

"If you say so..."

While Pearl and Amethyst were having their typical squabble and Jessica enjoying their antics, a fourth voice shouted close by.

"Pearl!"

As the girls looked in the direction of the voice, that's when they saw Steven and Connie, rapidly approaching the group in distress.

"Steven! Connie! You two look terrified - did something happen?" Pearl asked.

Steven, completely out of breath from his sprint, gasped for some air before he answered Pearl.

"It's Onniks - he's in some serious trouble!"

As Pearl looked closely at Steven, she could tell instantly that he wasn't joking.

"Why, what happened? What's going on?"

"It's Jasper! She's at the arena!"

Hearing Jasper's name left Pearl and Amethyst in complete disgust - they even summoned their weapons without hesitation.

"What!? You mean that that body-building buffoon is here!?? Amethyst angrily replied.

"Did she say why she was here?" Pearl asked Steven.

"No - sorry. Onniks told us to come find you before he confronted Jasper"

"Understood. Steven, Connie - I want you two to wait here until we get back, alright? We'll return shortly"

"But Pearl!" Steven moaned "I wanna go help-"

"No! No 'but's', Steven - the arena is too small for everyone to fit in. The less people there are, the better"

"*sigh*... Alright. We'll stay..."

"Good boy. Everything will be just fine"

Pearl then turned her attention towards Jessica for a brief moment.

"I... know we don't know each other very well, but could I ask you for a small favor" Pearl asked.

"Sure - I've got plenty of time to spare - what's up?"

"Could I ask you to just keep an eye on the kids for a while? I don't want to leave them here unattended"

"I can do that - no problem!" Jessica answered happily.

"Thank you. Amethyst - let's go!"

With that, Pearl and Amethyst race down the main road, hoping to catch up with Onniks in time.


	20. Renaissance Fair (Part 2) / Confirmation

Onniks trailed the shady figure all the way to the arena, where a huge crowd of people were waiting in line to enter. Regretting that he should have followed closer, he tried to enter along with the crowd, but his patience was dwindling.

Once he got inside, he noticed that there were two desks in the entrance - one on the left, and another on the right. As he glanced back over to the right, he noticed the suspicious person standing in the line at the desk to the right. As he pushed his way through the thick crowd to approach the desk, he noticed Steven ad Connie standing against a wall between both desks.

"Steven, Connie! 'Sup?" he addressed them both.

"Man, this is totally the pits, Onniks!" Steven cried out. "We wanted to go spectate the arena, but we got shoved out of the line!"

"It's like the whole crowd didn't think we exist" Connie pointed out. "All just because we're kids"

"Are you sure it's not because no one expected kids to show up here?" Onniks countered.

"That... could also be possible" Connie replied.

Just then, a man at the booth with the smaller crowd spoke up.

"Only five minutes left for open registration! Anyone wanting to participate in the tournament please sign up now!"

"Onniks - you should totally register!" Steven decreed. "I heard that there was gonna be a rare first place prize"

"Hmm... I do like prizes.... Alright, why not?"

As Onniks entertained the idea of participating in the tournament, one other detail had crossed his mind: the kids couldn't see anything since there were no good seats. As he continued to think for a solution, an alternative had come to light.

""Alright.. wait for me right here" he told the kids. "I just need to check something real quick"

As Onniks left for the registration desk, the kids remained where they were. They tried their hardest to pay attention to what Onniks was doing in hopes to eavesdrop, but the background banter and everyday commotion of the spectators muffled Onniks' voice.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Connie asked Steven, as she observed the man at the desk glancing back and forth between them and Onniks, giving only a simple nod.

"Not sure, but I do know one thing" Steven answered "If Onniks is involved, then expect anything to happen"

A minute had passed, and Onniks returned to Steven and Connie.

"Alright - let's go" Onniks replied.

"'Go'? Go where?" Steven asked.

"You said you wanted to go see the tournament, right?"

"Well yeah, but we're not gonna be able to see anything behind all the spectators"

"You won't have to - I got a good idea a bit ago"

"Usually, when you have a 'good idea', something ends up exploding" Connie sarcastically quipped.

"Aww. what!? C'mon - gimme a little credibility, will ya? *sigh* Aaanywho - I was looking at the list of rules, and they all seem pretty reasonable: Twenty-one year olds and over can register, no weapons - since this is an unarmed combat tournament, One-on-one, and no outside help. However, the rules never stated that a participant can't bring in a small fan club"

"Wait - you mean we can-?"

"Eeeyup! Since the both of you are under age to participate, you couldn't enter anyways, but you are allowed to show moral support on the side. The only thing is that you two are to stay as far away from the ring as possible"

Steven and Connie looked at each other, starstruck in excitement.

"Front row, VIP, first class seats!" They simultaneously replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on - don't wanna be late"

As Onniks and the kids entered the main room with a circular ring on the floor, they saw a multitude of combatants standing in a circular formation around it.

"Looks like this is my cue. Alright - time to get this started. You two, go ahead and wait for me at that wall over there" Onniks spoke to the kids, pointing at the far end of the room.

"Go get 'em, Onniks!" Steven yelled.

"We'll be rootin' for ya!" Connie followed up.

As Onniks walked away, he displayed a peace sign with his right hand as he stood at the edge of the ring, where an announcer was about to start the tournament

"Now, before we begin, I'd like to take this time to say that there has been a slight change in the awards. The staff at the archery range thought it'd be funny to switch our awards lockboxes at the last minute. Here's what we have to offer-"

The announcer signaled to another man waiting on an inaccessible platform, where he displayed a wooden box with a glass cover. Inside it, several rows of various gemstones remained secured.

Unfortunately, quite a few of the participants didn't take the news so lightly.

"Wait - what?"

"Are you for real?"

"Man, this is bogus!!"

"Is this seriously what you're giving out?"

"I didn't come here to win some dirty rocks!"

As the nay-sayers left the arena, they were also boo'd by the spectators watching from above.

Only six fighters remained.

"It would seem that today's tournament has taken an unusual turn of events" the announcer continued. "We would not only like to apologize to the spectators for providing a rather short tournament, but would also like to thank the remaining combatants for their willingness to continue the tournament - despite the meager reward"

The announcer then pulled out a sheet of paper that had a list of names on it.

"Now - without further ado" he added "Let's introduce today's competitors: First off, from nearby Beach City - Onniks!"

As the crowd applauded, Steven and Connie cheered from the back wall, both now wearing a black t-shirt with white text that read '#TeamOnniks'.

"C'mon - you got this, Onniks!" Steven cheered.

"Yeah! Show 'em who's boss!" Connie added.

Connie paused for a second, noticing that something was off.

"....Wait a second..

...How'd I get this shirt on?"

"Oh, that?" Steven replied "I slipped it on you when a certain special someone wasn't paying attention *wink*"

"Certain special someone'? You mean the guy that's narrating this mumbo-jumbo?"

"He's called an announcer, silly. And you shouldn't talk about him like that - he's probably having a bad day right now since a majority of the fighters just instantly left"

"Yeah... you're right about that. But still, I'm surprised you were able to dress me without me even noticing - that's some serious skill"

"Hee hee hee, thanks! But actually, I've been wondering what'd happen if that were to happen the other way"

Connie's cheeks turned beet red pondering what was going through Steven's mind then.

"Uhh, Steven? Wwwwhat are you talking about?" she asked nervously.

"What am I talking about?" he replied. "I'm talking about you trying to get this shirt on me without me noticing!"

"O-OH! R-right, sorry..." Connie commented embarrassingly. "I guess -this- 'special someone' needs to start paying even more attention"

Meanwhile, the announcer had just got to the final participant in the introductions.

"And last - but definitely not least - the fighter by the alias "Jester", from... Homeworld? Must be an out-of-state town..."

Just then, a sharp, piercing thought had struck through Onniks and Steven both at once.

"Homeworld?" Steven thought. "That's gotta be a Gem!"

"'Jester'?" Onniks pondered. "Name sounds vaguely familiar. Where've I heard that before?"

"And now - without further delay" the announcer broadcasted "let's bring out the fighters for the first match: Onniks versus Brian!"

The crowd cheered as the two participants approached the ring. Onniks analyzed his first opponent, but wasn't really impressed: An aged, average-looking man with a green t-shirt, blue denim pants, and a pair of white sneakers.

Onniks then stood in the same fighting position that he used when he trained with Garnet - fists up to cover his face, and his knees slightly bent.

The announcer then backed away from Onniks and his opponent, making sure he didn't get in their way.

"Aaaand - fight!"

Onniks' opponent charged right at him, a move one would expect a novice to make. As the man pulled his fist back to execute his punch, Onniks - seeing such an obvious attack - pulled him by the wrist and threw him to the floor as careful as possible, putting the man in a submission hold with his arm behind his back.

*tap tap tap tap tap*

The man was forced to submit.

"Aaaand, the winner of the first match: Onniks!" the announcer called out.

As the crown cheered for the victory, Onniks double checked the condition of his opponent. He was fine - just surprised that he lost so quickly. As the man left the ring in a humble defeat, Onniks returned to the bench with Steven and Connie to clear the area for the next match.

"That was a fast match" Connie spoke. "I'm surprised you went so easy on him"

"Yes - he was my opponent" Onniks replied "but he wasn't my enemy. There was no need to use full force"

In the distance, the announcer was heard introducing the opponents for the next match.

"And presenting, the fighters for the next match: "Smasher" versus Mikhail!"

"And besides Onniks continued "I'm a little more concerned about that meat wall over there"

As the group focused their attention back to the match, they watched as a giant of a man picked up his opponent like a mere doll and tossed him out of the ring. Out of breath from the landing, Smasher's opponent was forced to surrender.

"By the way - Onniks" Steven spoke.

"What's up?"

"Did you happen to catch that one of the fighters is from Homeworld?"

"Yeah, I did. That definitely didn't sound good"

As Onniks paused for a second, he eyed the ring and noticed that the mysterious contestant Jester was making their way to the ring, along with its opponent, who was barely half of Jester's size.

"By the way - did you catch the name of the fighter? Jester?" Onniks continued.

"Sure did" Steven confirmed. "Sounds oddly familiar"

"Exactly what I was thinking. I know I've heard that name from somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it"

GA-GUURRSSHH!

While they were talking, there was a sound of something hitting the wall of the arena hard. Onniks, Steven and Connie glanced over at the heavy noise: it was Jester, shoving its opponent out of the ring with its hefty boot, rendering the opponent unconscious in the wall he was shoved in.

"Aaaand - that concludes this portion of today's tournament" the announcer spoke. "Now - if I may have the two remaining fighters come to the center of the ring for a special announcement, please"

As Onniks arrived at the ring, the announcer continued speaking.

"Now - due to these unforeseen circumstances, we've thought that we should determine the next match with a coin toss, unless there are other suggestions?"

"No sir" Onniks answered.

"Let's just get on with it!" growled Smasher.

"...Actually - I have an idea" Jester spoke. "I think we should up the ante in this tournament"

"What do you have in mind?" the announcer questioned.

Just then, Jester removed the hood on the cape it was wearing and revealed its identity - Jasper, the orange-tinted hulking Gem that aided Onniks and Sardonyx a short time ago in the defeat of Meddio. This turn of events came off as little surprise to Onniks and Steven.

"*I should have known..." Onniks thought to himself.

"I propose a little something that the fans might enjoy, seeing as how they got shorthanded when over half the participants left: No holds barred, winner takes all, and only knockouts count as a win"

Hearing Jasper's new list of rules completely riled up the spectators on the upper floor.

"Listen to that crowd!" the announcer admired. "There's no way I could object to that. Are there any objections from the competitors?"

"'Bout time we got this started!" Smasher replied, banging his fist into his palm.

"Fine by me" Onniks answered.

"Well, alright then" the announcer commented. "With that being settled, let's have a ten-minute break for our audience to stretch out, get some more snacks at the concession stand, and use the restroom - It looks like things are about to get fired up"

As the audience cleared the stands for their break, Onniks went to check up on Steven and Connie.

"I knew it!" Steven whispered. "I knew there was something going on with that person!"

"Tell me about it" Onniks replied. "I knew there was something fishy going on when I heard the name 'Jester'"

"Do you have any plans of action?" Connie inquired.

"For now, all I can do is confront Jasper and try to get some answers. What I want you two to do, however, is go get Pearl and Amethyst, like - yesterday. If Jasper's willing to make a bunch of dangerous propositions for the match, then she's gotta have some ulterior motive here, and we're gonna need all the support we can get"

The children complied to Onniks' order and fled the scene, while Onniks himself returned to the ring with Jasper, where she was first to initiate the interrogation.

"Hey, small fry - what are YOU doing here? This doesn't seem like the kind of place you'd be wandering around in"

"Trailing you, of course. When I saw you going the same direction as the kids were, I had to make sure nothing happened to them. And since I was already here, I figured I'd pass the time here by signing up for the tournament. Now - what's your story?"

"You gotta be kidding me. Why would I ever tell a punk like you MY plans? I sure don't have anything to gain from it"

"It's not like you're gonna lose anything either"

"You know what... If it gets you off my case - fine. I'm here for the tournament's prize gems"

"Why? What good are those gonna do?"

"Not much... except reestablish an army and take over this miserable planet piece by piece to show Yellow Diamond my unbroken loyalty"

"How're you gonna do that? Those stones aren't even sentient"

"I'm not even gonna bother explaining anything to an incompetent human"

"Tch - whatever. I might not know how gems work on Homeworld, but I do know one thing - the Gems here won't let you get away with this"

"Like they matter. I'll steamroll over 'em if I have to"

"Did you happen to forget that I'm in your way as well?"

"Then so be it, hotshot. I kinda wanted to see how you stacked up anyways"

After several moment had passed since their confrontation, the spectators began returning to their seats, while the announce entered the ring.

"Alright! Now that everyone has returned, let's get the finale started! Have you happened to determine who will be participating?"

"Move it, pipsqueak!" Smasher exclaimed, shoving Onniks slightly to the side. "I don't even know why you're still here - you should just quit now and save me the trouble of having to deal with you"

"Be my guest, big guy" Onniks shrugged as he stepped aside, waiting at the edge of the ring knowing this wouldn't take long.

"Alright, it seems we have the contenders for this part of the tournament" the announcer addressed. "Let's got this show on the road! Aaand... FIGHT!"

Jasper stood by worry-free as Smasher charged at her with his right fist pulled back. As soon as he was in her reach, Jasper leaned down slightly and delivered a solid headbutt into his chest as he threw his punch, stopping him in his tracks. Not wasting any time for this opportunity, Jasper then delivered a series of left/right combos to the side of Smasher's head and jaw, severely staggering him and even knocking out a tooth. With one last attack Jasper stomped on Smasher's chest with her right foot, pushing him out of the ring and onto the floor, where he laid unconscious with no more will to continue the match.

The announcer then approached Smasher to double-check his condition, only to confirm that he was no longer able to fight.

"...Aaaand it looks like Smasher is out for the count!" the announcer replied. "Now, only two fighters remain: first, the hulking tank Jester-"

"It's JASPER, you twit!" Jasper shouted.

"*gulllp* I-I mean 'Jasper', versus Onniks!"

"What - don't I get a cool title?" Onniks joked.

"...I'm too scared to think of one right now" the announcer answered. "Anyways - let the final bout commence!"

As the announcer hurried out of the ring, Onniks and Jasper slowly approached each other, sizing each other up.

"You know - there's a good reason why I suggested that 'no holds barred' rule" Jasper hinted at Onniks.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

Jasper then opened up the front of her cloak, revealing a thick rope tied to her waist. As she untied it, a shadowy object fell from her back. Jasper then pulled a small device with a single red button from the inside of the cloak, then tossed the cloak away and stepped to the side a couple steps, revealing Lapis - slightly fatigued with a white frame secured on the outside of her body.

"Lapis!" Onniks exclaimed "What did you do to her!?

"Heh. Nothing... yet" Jasper replied.

"Onniks!" Lapis yelled "This... thing attached to me will force me to dance with her back into Malachite! You gotta defeat her the same way as last time. Don't worry about me - I'll be fine"

"*ugh* ... No holds barred, you say?" Onniks asked.

"That's right - anything goes" Jasper confirmed.

"...Good"

Onniks spawned his ninjato from his gem, which unintentionally caused the audience above to gawk and speculate at the scene, while the announcer was at a complete loss of words to describe the scenario.

Onniks took a few steps forward and lunged his weapon into a portal, which came out at Jasper's right side. However, the flash from his portal triggered Jasper's peripheral vision, which made her step back as the blade from Onniks' weapon missed her torso.

Jasper then caught the blade with her left hand while it was still in front of her and pulled on it, dragging Onniks through the portal as well. She then quickly released the blade and grabbed Onniks' neck, tightly holding onto him to prevent him from moving.

"Still so predictable. Some things never change, huh?" Jasper spoke to Onniks.

She then threw him against the wall as hard as she could, causing him to break through it to the outside and tumble along the ground, putting him in a slight daze.

While Onniks was recovering, Jasper pushed the button on the device she revealed earlier and activated the frame that was fastened to Lapis, forcing her to commence the fusion dance as the dance itself was led outside.

Onniks recovered from his stagger, but not soon enough to stop the fusion. As Jasper's and Lapis' gems glown, their bodies turned white and merged into each other, growing in mass and reforming back into the monstrous Malachite.

"Ahh, just like the good ol' days!" Malachite spoke as she stretched her arms out. "Now, as I recall, I was in the middle of giving you a severe beatdown - whaddaya say we pick up where we left off?"

"Gladly...."

The match continued as Malachite swooped her right hand at Onniks as she tried to grab him.

*WHOOOH*

SHIINK!

"GAAUUGH!"

Malachite cried out as she felt a sharp pain in her palm: it was Onniks, stabbing it completely through with his weapon. Malachite, however, saw this as a minor setback: she continued to run the rest of the blade through her palm, completely securing Onniks in her hand. As she constricted her fingers around his body, his weapon dissipated as he struggled to keep his composure.

"You - are soooo - gonna pay for that!" Malachite threatened. She pulled her arm back and bashed Onniks in a tree, knocking both the tree down and Onniks out of breath. She then picked up the fallen tree with her left hand and held it upwards above her head.

"Time to go squishy squishy, little bu-"

WA-TSSHHH

"Huh? What the -?"

As Onniks stood back up, he noticed that Malachite's hand was being latched onto by a long black rope. As he followed the rope to the other end, that's when he spotted Amethyst, using her whip to halt Malachite's arm. Beside her was Pearl, who had then spawned her spear and started running up Amethyst's whip like a tightrope.

*Sliiice*

"D'AAHH" Malachite screamed as Pearl cut her hand wielding the tree, dropping it to the ground. With a sudden flip of her injured hand, Malachite latched onto Pearl and tightened her grip around her.

"Why does everyone keep messing with my hands!?" Malachite snarled.

In a fit of anger, she lifted Pearl above her head in an attempt to slam her to the ground, but Onniks saw what Malachite was planning. As she began to throw Pearl to the ground, Onniks summoned a portal directly below Pearl just before she connected with the ground, then reappeared from another portal in front of Onniks, sending her into the air.

During her ascent, she saw Onniks reaching out to her with both hands, flicking his fingers in a 'come here' motion. Pearl replied with a simple nod. On her way down, she gently spun her body in mid air and landed safely in Onniks' arms, where the then twirled around with her in a dancing motion and placed her on the ground, finishing the motion as he leaned Pearl slightly backwards.

Immediately afterwards, their gems started to glow similar to Jasper's and Lapis' earlier, then both Onniks and Pearl were engulfed in a tall white pillar of light. Several short seconds later the light dissipated, revealing Hematite.

"Maaan - that was a great nap!" Hematite spoke as she stretched her back with her hands above her head. "Had a really nice dream, too: The birds were chirpin', the sun was shinin'. the leaves were rustin'.... and I wasn't disturbed by an angry six-armed beast"

"Grrr... I ain't got time for this!" Malachite growled. "Just get outta my way, and I'll promise to only break half your bones when I'm done"

"Afraid I can't let you do that. See - you got a friend of mine tucked away in there somewhere inside you, and I intend on getting her back"

There's only one way that's gonna happen - you know that, right?"

"Wouldn't want it any other way"

Malachite then charged at Hematite, only to come to a complete stop as Hematite landed a front heel kick under Malachite's chin with her right foot. Hematite then spun around to her left and tried to follow up with another heel kick with her left foot, but was unexpectedly caught at the ankle by Malachite.

Malachite, taking advantage of this opening, pulled Hematite to her at the ankle and headbutt her in the mouth, leaving her in a daze. She continued the assault with a flurry of left/right combos on both sides of Hematite's head, forcing her to lower her guard. Using four of her arms, Malachite picked up Hematite and tossed her out of the woods and into an open field as she landed on her back, having the wind knocked out of her.

With a running start, Malachite used this momentum to leap into the air, ready to pounce on Hematite.

However, Hematite - though winded - prepared for a counter attack. With her fingertips once again shining radiantly, she pierced her fingers through the center of Malachite's body, stopping her in her tracks.

"KHH-AAGGHH" Malachite screamed out as Hematite began to pry her body apart, forcing her to defuse as Hematite rolled herself towards the fairgrounds to get Malachite off her. As Hematite applied more strength, she managed to separate Malachite back down to two separate gems and respective silhouettes, which shortly reformed back into Jasper and Lapis, where Lapis was now in possession of a thin, paper-like object.

Lapis spawned her wings and tried to fly away, but Jasper apprehended her before she could escape. Hematite, fearing to stop Jasper due to risking injury to Lapis, unfused back down to Onniks and Pearl, where they both summoned their weapons.

THWACK!

"D'AAGH! What the- who did that!?" Jasper yelled, feeling a sharp pain in her left shoulder. The unexpected impact forced her to release Lapis, who then flew behind Onniks and Pearl for cover. As Jasper reached back to inspect the wound, she felt a long stick protruding from her body. She snapped the stick in half and looked at it closer: it had a noticeable green ribbon attached to it.

"Wait - that ribbon!" Pearl spoke. "Then that means..."

As Pearl peered down the direction that the stick came from, there she saw - standing close to the arena's outside wall - stood Jessica, with an arrow knocked in her bow and several more in the ground in front of her. Beside her stood Steven and Connie, with Steven holding onto a rectangular wooden object.

*thwip*

Jessica sent the arrow she had knocked flying towards Jasper.

THWOP!

"UUGH! *gasp* *pant*" Jasper moaned as Jessica's arrow penetrated her left lung from the side.

Jessica pulled an arrow from the ground in front of her and readied it.

"Definitely not gonna beat them all" Jasper thought to herself. "Not in this condition"

Jasper then pulled another object from her shirt - a small chrome cylinder with a red button on the end. As she pressed it, her body began to rapidly pixellate and disappear into thin air from her feet up.

"She's getting away!" Onniks yelled as he ran towards Jasper, attempting to slice her in the middle, but missed as she continued to disappear.

"Gonna hafta do a lot better than that, chump! Hehehehe...." Jasper taunted as the disappearing process finished.

"Yeah, hey - Pearl?" Onniks spoke "Can... can you tell me what just happened?"

"No. I. Can't" she answered. "I've never seen that kind of Homeworld technology - that's gotta be fairly new"

"*ugh* We'll have to deal with this later, then"

Onniks then tuned his attention to Lapis.

"How're you holdin' up?"

"I'm fine - thanks! That's twice I owe you" Lapis answered. "Oh, by the way - this is for you"

Lapis then handed Onniks the object she held onto, which turned out to be a medium-size white envelope whit his name on it in black lettering.

"I managed to grab it from Jasper just before we separated as Malachite - it was probably the reason why she tried to keep me from running away"

"I'm just glad you're safe - that's my main concern. And thanks for the envelope - I'll take a look at it once we get home"

At that moment, Amethyst, Steven, Connie and Jessica met up with the group at the spot where Jasper vanished.

"Well, it looks like everyone's here" Onniks spoke. "Amethyst... Steven... Connie... New person who I've never seen before"

"The name's Jessica, champ" she replied.

"Jessica Champ, eh? Sounds like a winner to me- *oouf*" Onniks' sarcastic remark came to a halt as Pearl bopped him on the shoulder with her palm, which resulted in Jessica spouting off a small giggle.

"Oh, stop it!" she chuckled at Onniks, then focused her attention to Jessica.

"Anyways - thanks for the back-up - we really appreciate it"

"Hey, no problem! Glad I could help"

Lapis then quietly inched her way towards Jessica.

"I - I must thank you as well for freeing me from Jasper's grasp - she most likely wouldn't have let me go since last time"

"Jasper? Is that her name?" Jessica asked. "Well, I don't think that matters right now - you're free, and she's gone. That's all I'm worried about"

Steven then approached Onniks, passing over the wooden framed box he was securing.

"Here ya go, Onniks! That announcer guy said that this was for you"

Inside it, was encased the collection of gemstone that were awarded to all three placeholders of the tournament.

"That announcer guy said that normally, he'd pass out the awards, but this time was just too weird for him to handle, so he gave them to me and just went straight home"

Pearl took a gander at the gemstones as she peeked over Onniks' shoulder.

"And what were you planning on doing with these?" she asked.

"Keeping them away from Jasper was my only priority"

"What do you mean?"

"Jasper wanted these gemstones to use for some army to regain Yellow Diamond's approval. Still don't know how she intended on doing that, though"

"It's a... complicated process" Pearl replied uneasily. "I'l explain that later - for now, I just wanna go home. Had more than enough excitement for one day"

"So, Jessica" Amethyst spoke "Wanna come with us? I think you'd like it"

"Sorry - no-can-do" she regretted. "Got school in the morning. I'd love to stop by another time, though"

"Hey, no prob! If you're ever in Beach City, we live in the only beach house by the ocean - you can't miss it!"

"I'll definitely keep an eye out. Well - I gotta run. Catch ya later!"

Jessica then waved goodbye to everyone as she left the area.

It was mid afternoon when everyone finally got back to Beach City. The group decided to walk the rest of the way home along the main road from Greg's car wash due to the van going through overheating problems. As they trekked past the Big Donut, Amethyst spotted something in the giant decal on the roof that made her get Pearl's attention.

"HA! Yo, P! Check up there!"

As they both look on the roof, the found the stray ballista bolt stuck on the inside hole of the decal.

"Us Gems always hit our targets!" Amethyst praised.

"That's just how we roll!" Pearl confirmed as they gave each other a hi-five.

"Do I even wanna know..." Onniks started to speak, but stopped himself mid-sentence. "You know what? Scratch that. I'm pretty sure I don't"

As they finally entered the house, there they saw Garnet sitting next to an older woman that looked similar to Connie on the couch.

"Mom!" Connie burst out. "You're here early - something wrong?"

"Your cousin decided to show up unannounced, so I had to come pick you up as soon as I was able to. Gather your things so we can head back home"

"Sure thing, mom" Connie complied, as she headed upstairs to pack up, where Peridot was casually watching the TV.

The woman stood up from the couch and looked at the group, taking a notice to Onniks.

"Seems you're doing a lot better. How's your foot holding up?" She asked him.

"Uhh... yeah - it's doing better than before, Miss... I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"Not personally, no. I'm Priyanka - Connie's mother. I'm the one who dressed your cast a while ago"

"OH! Right! Thank you for that - I really appreciate that. If there's anything I can-"

"Don't worry about it" she interrupted. "It's the least I could do for you since you rescued Connie that day. Has... there been any word of that... thing lately?"

"Not to worry, ma'am" Onniks answered. "That monster's good as gone - it won't be bothering anyone else again"

"That's fantastic news - thank you. Connie, are you ready?"

Just then, Connie marched down the stairs with her backpack hoisted on her shoulders.

"Ready, mom!" Connie replied.

"Alright - lets go". Priyanka then turned her attention to Pearl. "And thank you for watching over Connie"

"No trouble at all, ma'am!" Pearl spoke.

Steven then approached Connie and gave her a hug.

"Sorry you gotta leave so early" Steven spoke. "Hope you come back soon"

"I'm sure I will" Connie confirmed, returning Steven's hug "Take care"

As Priyanka and Connie took their leave, Steven ran upstairs to hang out with Peridot, while everyone else took a spot on the furniture downstairs. Onniks then held the white envelope in his hands and examined it momentarily.

"So... you gonna open it or not?" Lapis asked eagerly.

"I... I don't know..."

"Huh? Why not?"

"What if... what if this thing like - shoots a custard pie at me or something?"

"Oh - just open it, scaredy cat!"

Onniks teared open the envelope and pulled out a brown folder: a large black scribble was marked horizontally along the center of the folder with the words "MEDICAL HOSPITAL" written underneath it.

"Medical Hospital?" Pearl inquired. "Are these some sort of medical records?"

"Let's take a look" answered Onniks.

As he opened it, a medical form sits on one side, and a black and white photo of a long, dark-haired woman with an eye patch curled up on a hospital bed holding a newborn child on the other. Onniks then scanned the medical form carefully.

"Let's see... 

Father: Deceased

Mother: "Jette"

Child: (M).... !"

Onniks' eyes widened as he closed the folder.

"What - what is it? Whats wrong" asked Pearl.

Onniks then leaned forward and clenched the folder close to his chest.

"...Child... Male... Named Onniks. It's...me. This is my birth certificate, I've... I've finally found a clue about my mother"


	21. A Minor Inconvenience

Three days had passed since the renaissance fair fiasco, and everything had been peaceful ever since. This day, Steven, Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis hung out at the arcade, while Onniks, Pearl, and Garnet were watching the tides roll in and out on the sandy beach laying on some lawn chairs equipped with umbrellas, with Pearl taking a nap, snuggled up on Onniks' side, and a cooler set between Onniks and Garnet. Breaking the silence, Onniks made an inquiry regarding the other day.

"You know, something's been bugging me about what Jasper said at the arena" Onniks softly spoke to Garnet, trying not to disturb Pearl's nap. "What, exactly, did she mean by using gems to make an army?"

"Homeworld has these large machines called 'Injectors'" Garnet answered. "They do exactly as their name implies - they inject gems underground along with a special material with them, where the gem gestates and emerges with sentence"

"If that's the case, then why don't we do that ourselves?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean - why don't we beat Jasper to the punch and bring the gemstones to life? Let them decide for themselves how they want to live"

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow it" Garnet forbade. "While I appreciate the gesture and would love nothing more than to see Gems living freely, there are several flaws with that:

One - Yellow Diamond could return here at any moment, and If she were to discover that there are free-roaming Gems about, then there's no doubt she'd either capture them and use them against us, or outright destroy them.

Two - Gems have unique personalities - much like humans. I don't want Gems to end up resenting us for disturbing their lifestyle that their accustomed to.

And three, which is probably the most important - we're not omnipotent; we simply don't toy around with life like that"

Onniks neglected to take into consideration the feelings of the other Gems; he had felt beyond terrible about thinking about his own ego.

"I - I'm sorry, Garnet" he apologized. "I didn't even think about what you or the others would think about that"

"'Ey, it's alright - you didn't know" she casually replied. "B'sides - its not like I can't say I hadn't considered it myself. To be able to see more Gems freely roaming everywhere without fear of the Diamonds...quite the noble gesture, I'd say"

After a few minutes of silence, a shadow approached them.

"Hey, uhh.. Is there an 'Onniks' that lives here, by any chance?" a female voice spoke, waking Pearl up from her nap.

As the three looked towards the direction of the voice, there thy noticed a woman with blond curly hair dressed in a mail person's uniform standing by.

Pearl then quickly stood up and answered her.

"Oh, uhh, yes! He's right here - covered in. well, 'me' - is there something wrong?"

"No, of course not! Just got a package to deliver - that's all"

Hearing that caused Onniks to raise some suspicion.

The mail lady then handed Onniks a hand-held electronic device with a light green screen.

"Now - if I could just have you sign that real quick..."

Onniks scribbled his name on the screen and passed the device back.

"Thanks - appreciate it!" the mail lady replied as she handed the package to Onniks - a small brown box about eight-by-eight inches and about four inches thick. She then tipped her hat as a farewell and took her leave.

As the mail lady walked up the hill, Onniks took the package and placed it at his feet, then laid back down on the lawn chair.

"What - not gonna open it?" Pearl chuckled.

"Heeeell no" Onniks replied. "I don't trust that thing"

"And why not? It looks like an ordinary package"

"The problem is that no one outside of the house knows I live here, and I haven't ordered anything online either - so me getting anything through the mail is beyond suspicious"

A faint ticking sound could be heard coming from the box.

"...The hell...?" Pearl spoke softly as she inspected the top of the box.

Without warning, the top of the box flaps open and ejects a black glass tube, striking Pearl in the chest.

"DAAAAGGHH!" she cried out as the tube snapped in half, emitting a black dusty cloud enveloped her shirt - eating away at it like acid, then retracts back into the box, closing itself once the tube was back inside.

The force of the impact caused Pearl to fling the box away and fall backwards towards Garnet.

"Shit! Pearl!" Onniks exclaimed as he and Garnet lunged out of their chairs.

Garnet immediately scooped up Pearl and carried her into the shallow part of the ocean and began flinging water on her to remove whatever was covering Pearl. However, the dust that was collected on her shirt refused to come off.

"Onniks - help me get this damn thing off!" Garnet demanded.

"On it!" he replied as he ran next to her.

Onniks spawned a small knife from his gem and began slicing Pearl's shirt into shreds and tossed the remainder on the beach, where it dissipated in a white light.

Garnet then slowly carried Pearl back onto the beach with Onniks beside her and hoisted her up on her lap.

"*cough cough* What... the hell WAS that?" Pearl softly spoke, slowly regaining some composure.

"You were hit in the chest with some kind of black powder" Onniks answered. "Don't you remember?"

As Pearl looked at her chest, she noticed a red irritation between her breasts....

...Then she noticed her breasts - now realizing that both Garnet and Onniks were looking at her.

"Dammit, Onniks!" Pearl shouted as she reactively slapped him in the cheek, then immediately spawned another shirt on herself.

"Nice to see you're feeling better" Onniks replied.

"Pearl, take it easy" Garnet added "It's not like he did it on purpose. Besides - there's more important things to worry about"

"Do you remember anything that just happened?" Onniks asked Pearl.

"Just... being hit in my chest with some kind of glass vial"

Pearl then grasped at the spot where the infection would be.

"*grrr* It... still burns..."

"Come - let's get you inside" Garnet spoke to Pearl. "Can you walk?"

"Y-yeah, I can - just still in a bit of a daze" Pearl answered as she struggled to her feet.

As Pearl and Garnet walked back to the house. Onniks went to recover the box containing the broken tube.

"Sure as hell can't have something like that happening again" he spoke to himself as he grabbed the box and rendezvoused with the girls.

After about twenty minutes of resting inside, the rash induced by the vial on Pearl's chest had nearly vanished, save for a faint red spot about the size of half a fist. Garnet had secured the box in her room, meanwhile the others that were at the arcade had finally returned. The day had come to and end - with minor incident - as it typically would.

The next morning, everyone had woken up bright and early and gathered in the living room for their morning get-together, save for Pearl, who had overslept and arrived late with shady bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept at all.

"Hey, Pearl?" Steven addressed "Is it alright if I just made a cold lunch today? Connie's supposed to meet me by the lighthouse and-"

"*sigh* Yeah, Steven - fine, sure. I don't care right now - just... whatever"

"Pearl? Is... is something wrong?" Steven inquired "I've never heard you talk like that before"

A feeling of guilt had begun to weigh in on Pearl's conscious.

"*sigh* I'm sorry, Steven - I shouldn't have said that" Pearl apologized. "I'm fine - really. I'm just... really tired, today"

"Well, alright. Just take it easy today - I'm sure things'll get better"

As Steven opened the fridge to gather some food for his lunch, Pearl sat down at the kitchen table and instinctively poured herself a glass of hot coffee and started sipping on it.

"Man, P! You must really be out of it!" Amethyst commented.

"What are you talking about, Amethyst?"

"I'm talkin' about you drinkin' that coffee! You haven't done that in... well... you've never done that!"

"Ugh... Can I have like - five minutes to myself without being sassed, please?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just get some rest, alright? I'm sure you'll feel better later"

"*sigh* Yeah - maybe.... Think I'll just... get some shut-eye, then..."

Pearl then hopped off the chair and lazily walked to the door behind the warp pad, where it opened up as it resonated with Pearl's gem magic and entered it, disappearing in her room for the rest of the day.

Everyone then continued about their day as usual, save for Onniks - who naturally felt nothing but concern for Pearl's condition, but knew that she also needed her rest, so he felt obligated to give her some space.

Several hours pass, and everyone had already left the house, with the exception of Onniks, who decided to remain home and monitor Pearl's recovery.

He sat idly by on the couch in the living room watching a movie on the holojector as Pearl had slowly entered the living room, still groggy from her ineffective rest. She sat down beside him and curled up on his left side, securely clenching on his arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

"...You know - there's something puzzling me, right now" Pearl spoke.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I've been unintentionally treating everyone important to me like shit all day today, yet everyone easily forgives me - why? I don't even get scolded for it..."

"Well, like you said - it was unintentional, so we all know you didn't mean anything that you said earlier"

"I know, but I cant help but feel responsible. I just-"

"Hey - don't worry about it. I'm sure all this will just blow over soon. Just get some rest, alright?"

"I... yeah, maybe you're right. Just... let me have a few minutes right here, please? It's... rather comforting"

"Of course. Take all the time you want"

Seconds later, Pearl had finally given into fatigue and effortlessly slept on his lap, hoping that tomorrow will be better.


	22. A Favor Returned

Unaware to both Onniks and Pearl, they both had slept half the next day away on the couch. As far as they knew, only Amethyst was in the house, as she was making some rattling noises in the cupboards in the kitchen, which woke Onniks up.

"What's up with all the racket?" Onniks asked Amethyst.

"Just looking for something to munch on" she answered. "With all that money we won the other day, you'd figure that there'd be something to eat in here..."

As she shifted some pots and pans around in the top shelf, she pulled out a stack of them, but underestimated the weight of them, causing them to crash to the ground. Pearl then sprang to life from Onniks' lap, overly irritated even by her standards.

"Amethyst, I swear to god - make one more noise, and I'll knock your shit into last week" Pearl replied sternly, to say the least.

Both Onniks and Amethyst stared at Pearl, wide-eyed with the 'deer-in-the-headlights' expression; neither of them had heard her talk like that before. Closer inspection of her revealed her to be more tired than before - with bloodshot eyes and dark rings around her eyelids.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry, P, I just-" Amethyst tried to apologize, but Pearl had interrupted her midway.

"I don't care, Amethyst. One. More. Sound"

"Alright - geez" Amethyst replied as she gently shut the cupboard door. "I'm going out for a while - Pearl looks like she needs a little bit more rest and relaxation, or something"

Having said that, Amethyst immediately headed out the front door and down the steps on the porch.

"Ugh - I don't need any more rest" Pearl complained "I'm wide awake already"

"You absolutely sure about that?" Onniks asked "Your eyes are completely bloodshot"

"I said I'm fine - damn..."

Pearl paused for a moment, then stood up from the couch.

"*sigh* I'm going out for a walk - maybe some fresh air'll do me some good"

"Want me to come along and-"

"No!... *sigh* No, just... I'd really like some alone time right now. Besides - someone needs to be here in case Steven comes back"

"You do bring up a good point... Alright, just... be careful, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah...." Pearl answered as she exited the front door.

A half hour passed since Pearl left, but no one had yet to arrive home. While normally this would be a great time to enjoy the silence, Onniks couldn't help but feel concerned about Pearl's condition.

Suddenly, the front door burst open, with Amethyst and Steven charging through it - completely covered in mud and soaking each other with water guns, making a mess as they stopped next to the kitchen table. As relaxed as Onniks is about these situations, he reflected on Pearl's reaction earlier about the racket Amethyst made.

"Y'know, as hilarious as all this is" Onniks addressed both Steven and Amethyst "Pearl... isn't having a good day, right now. You should clean this up before she returns"

"Aww, what!?" Amethyst questioned "C'mon - don't be such a downer! It's just a little harmless fun!"

"I dunno, Amethyst" Steven replied "Pearl's been seeming kinda irritable lately - maybe we should listen to Onniks"

"What!? You too? Tch - fine, whatever. Let's just get this over with..."

Just then, an eerie shadow extended itself from the front door. There stood Pearl, holding a half-empty glass soda bottle and seeping with rage.

"For fuck's sake, Amethyst - can't you goddamn listen!" Pearl screamed as she threw the bottle at her.

Amethyst, not expecting Pearl to show that much anger towards her, didn't have time to react to the projectile. As she braced for the impact, a moment passed by as she realized that it didn't hit her. 

CRRRAAASSSH!

A quick glance around the room had shown that Onniks had conjured a portal in front of Amethyst and sent the bottle towards a window near the front door.

As Pearl took a peek at the fear in Amethyst's eyes, it had took her only a quick second to have a brief moment of reality snap into her. She then slowly stepped to the end of the house next to the fridge.

"What... what the hell did I just do?" she muttered as she curled up into a ball on the floor.

Amethyst, taking note of Pearl's reaction, regained her composure and approached the front door.

"You know what" she replied as she glanced in Pearl's direction "I'm outta here. I'll come back once you decide to get your act together" she finished as she walked outside and down the stairs.

Pearl - too distraught and overwhelmed for words - broke down in tears as she buried her face between her knees. As Onniks saw this, he approached her and tried to give her some comfort.

*sob*

"...Pearl?"

*sob snif*

"Hey - Pearl"

"*sniff...Why me?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"...I didn't mean to do that...

*sniff*

...I never meant to react that way..."

Pearl paused for a moment to recollect what thoughts she could muster,

"...Onniks...."

"Yeah?"

"I need... I need you to get Steven away from here... away from me. If I lose my temper again, I don't want him in the way. It just... needs to be long enough until I can get better"

"But I... *sigh* alright, I'll do it. Any suggestions?"

"Somewhere... out of town. The farther, the better"

"But I don't know of any place like that"

"Steven does. Now please - hurry.."

"Alright. Just wait here for me, okay?"

Pearl responded with a simple nod. Onniks then got up and addressed Steven.

"Alright kiddo, let's get you some things packed up - we're gonna find you another place to stay at until this whole thing blow over"

"I don't understand - I mean, I understand getting out of the house for a bit, but couldn't I just stay with my dad?"

"It was Pearl's suggestion to get you as far away from her as possible - somewhere outta town..."

"If it's outta town, then I know of just the place! But... can I make a request?

"Depends on the request"

"...Can we travel with those portals of yours? I haven't gotten the chance to yet"

"Heh - sure thing!" Onniks replied sit a smirk. "Just tell me which direction to go, and I'll get you there"

"Awwright! Thanks!" Steven replied excitedly. "Let me get my things!"

Steven was ready if just a few minutes, stuffing his cheeseburger-designed backpack that it almost didn't close.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Steven spoke.

"Alright - now just stand right next to me and try not to move around too much"

With a flick of his fingers and a flash of light from the floor, Onniks and Steven fell through the portal from underneath them.

After several minutes of being airborne, the two finally traveled through one last portal, which gently landed them on a concrete road in front of a two-story house, which was connected to similar-appearing houses on either side of it.

"I present to you - Connie's house!" Steven boasted as he pointed to it in a game show assistant fashion.

Onniks and Steven walked up to the house, with Onniks giving the door a couple knocks. Several seconds later, a man with black hair, a brown jacket and blue pants answered the door.

"Yes? May I help you?" he asked.

"Yessir" Onniks replied courteously "I'm looking for Connie's parents - there's something I need to discuss with them"

"I'm Doug, Connie;s father - And you are...?"

"My name's Onniks, sir. I'm residing with-"

"Wait - Onniks? My wife and Connie have been talking about you - come on in!"

Onniks and Steven entered the house, where Priyanka was sitting on the couch sipping on a beverage, and Connie at a desk studying a schoolbook; the shutting of the door drew both their attention.

"Steven! Onniks!" Connie blurted. "Hey guys - what's up?"

"Hey, Connie! Long time, no see!" Steven replied as he approached her, then started exchanging a small conversation.

"Onniks - good to see you again" Priyanka spoke as she stood up. "Is there anything we can help you with?"

"Actually - yeah" Onniks answered "But is there any way we can talk in private? It's rather important"

"Sure - one second" Priyanka confirmed, then spoke to Connie.

"Connie, you and Steven go upstairs for a few minutes - the adults need to talk"

"Yes, mother - of course!" Connie replied. "C'mon, Steven - let's go!"

"Right!" Steven replied, as Connie shut her book and dragged Steve upstairs.

"Onniks - let's speak in the kitchen" Prianka spoke.

Onniks followed Doug and Priyanka into the kitchen, where they all took an empty seat at the table.

"Want some coffee?" Doug offered.

"No thanks" Onniks declined. "I won't be long"

"So, what's going on?" Priyanka asked.

"*sigh*... There's... a bit of a situation going on at the house" Onniks answered. "There's... something strange going on with Pearl"

"Strange? Like how?"

"Dunno. She's recently became increasingly violent"

"Violent? That doesn't sound like the Pearl I've met. Did something happen to her recently?"

Onniks thought of her question for a moment, then remembered what happened.

"Actually, yeah. She was hit with some kind of black powder the other day that started eating at her like some kind of acid. We were able to rinse most of it off, but it seems there was still some we weren't able to remove"

"I don't suppose you'd happen to have any more of that 'powder', would you? I may be able to run some tests down at the hospital if I had some"

"I think so - yeah. And thanks for doing all this..."

"Don't worry about it. Consider this repayment for what you've done"

"But you've-"

"I don't wanna hear it. You've saved my daughter's life - this'll give me the chance to return that favor. And no, a simple cast isn't enough. The main problem is that I don't know enough on gem biology or geology or whatever to be able to come up with a proper analysis"

"Understood. If that's the case, then we'll send a Gem with you, just in case"

"I just hope she's small enough to smuggle in the laboratory"

"Oh... I think she is..."

"Good - I'll stop by in the morning to pick everything up. Now - back to the matter of Steven..."

"Yes, right. As you know, Pearl's becoming increasingly violent against her own will - she's even attacked a fellow gem. That's why we were wondering if there were any way Steven could stay here for a while until we can get Pearl's condition back to normal"

"You've done the right thing by talking to us about this. Of course - we'd gladly watch him for a while"

"Thank you, Ms. Maheswaran - this means a lot to us"

Onniks then stood up from the chair and prepared to make his leave.

"I apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I must attend to Pearl's condition. Thank you again"

Several minutes pass by since Onniks' departure from the Maheswaran residence, and he arrived back inside the beach house, where Pearl was still curled up in her ball.

"How're you holdin' up?" he asked "Feelin' any better?"

Pearl shook her head 'no', not saying a word.

"*sniff* I'm such a screw-up..."

"No you're not - stop beating yourself up"

As she lifted her head to look at him, he noticed a significant change in her; her face was thinning down, her skin turning slightly pale, the gem on her forehead was fading, and her eyes - while no longer bloodshot - were dilated.

"What did I do to deserve this, Onniks?!" she yelled. "Why must I uncontrollably hurt the ones I love?!"


	23. From Good to Bad

Pearl had fallen asleep shortly after Onniks' arrival from the Maheswaran's house, leaning against the wall for support. Garnet, Lapis and Peridot - all noticing the slumbering Pearl from the window- took consideration in entering the house as quietly as possible. Garnet signaled to Onniks to fallow her, which he obeyed as he was led back to the warp pad, where he and the other three gems teleported to the familiar Sky Arena.

"I brought you here so we can talk without disturbing Pearl" Garnet stated. "Have there been any updates?"

"A couple, actually" Onniks answered. "First, Pearl had a slight violent episode today and threw a bottle at Amethyst"

"Dear god - is everyone alright?"

"Yeah. Amethyst left shortly after, saying that she'll come back once Pearl gets better"

"I see. And what about Steven? Is he safe?"

"The Maheswaran's have agreed to look after Steven for the time being until Pearl's condition is resolved"

"That's good news. Steven't safety always takes priority. Anything else?"

"Yeah - one more thing: Doc Maheswaran has also volunteered to help research the cause of Pearl's condition, but she needs both a sample of that black stuff that hit her, and a Gem she can sneak into the lab - a Gem who knows a lot about Gem... biology? Whatever - she said she'll stop by in the morning to pick up both"

Peridot, upon hearing the situation - voiced her opinion.

"...Alright - I'll go"

"You sure you want to do this, Peridot?" Garnet asked.

"Of course There's several reasons, actually:

One - If this black powder stuff is a Homeworld weapon - and a modern one at that - then odds are I may be abe to reverse engineer it and find a counterpaert to it.

Two - I'm the only one here small enough to smuggle anywhere. Tch, I mean - look at me - I can practically fit in a grocery bag!

And three - which is the most important of all - it gets Lapis off my ass for a while, and I can sure use a break"

"I can't help it - you have a cute tiny ass!" Lapis chimed in jokingly.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT, GODDAMMIT!" Peridot screamed, following a quick breath.

"*sigh* Anyways, as I was saying - I'll volunteer for this mission, seeing as how I'm the only one that matches the criteria"

"Understood" Garnet replied "If there's nothing else, then lets head back home"

As the group arrived back via the warp pad, they noticed that Pearl had now left.

"Shit - not good" Onniks spoke.

"I'll check the bedrooms" Garnet spoke as she opened the door behind them and entered though it, with the door closing behind her.

"I'll check outside" Lapis spoke. "With my wings, I can get a better birds-eye view of everything"

Lapis then exited the front door of the house and immediately conjured her wings, taking flight in an instant.

"Man, it sucks balls not having a way to help" Peridot griped.

"Ehh.. I think it's better if you wait here, actually" Onniks commented. "Dr. Maheswaran will be here later to pick you up"

"Of course, but without that sample, I'll still be useless"

"Actually... wait for Garnet. I know that she stored the box with that powder in her room - I'm sure she'll return with it shortly"

A few minutes passed on, and Onniks and Peridot were sitting on the couch, waiting for everyone to show back up. While Lapis had yet to show back up, Garnet emerged from the bedroom door, holding the brown box from the other day.

"Any updates?" Garnet asked as she walked into the living room.

"Lapis took to the sky to get a better view of the city after you left, but she hadn't returned yet"

"I see" Garnet replied. She then passed the box over to Peridot. "Take that when you go with Dr. Maheswaran - there should still be some samples left in it. In the meantime, wait here in case Pearl or Lapis come back - I'm gonna go scout the area on foot" she finished as she bolted out the front door.

Onniks rested his head in his hand, supported up by the arm of the couch and let out a tired yawn.

"...Guess all we can do now is play the 'Waiting Game', I suppose" he replied with a sign of fatigue.

"I just hope she's alright" Peridot replied. "Who knows what kinda creeps will-"

Peridot paused herself as she glanced over at Onniks, who had fallen asleep, with his head still in his hand.

"Actually.... never mind. I'm sure she'll be just fine"

Then next morning, a reflection of light bounced off a window from the front door and hit Onniks' face, groggily waking him up. As he focused his vision, he glanced at the holojector, which was flashing the time "ten twelve AM".

"Dammit - I overslept again!? Fuck me..." he spoke to himself.

"That's Pearl's job when she gets better, loverboy" a familiar voice spoke beside him.

"Dammit, Garnet - that's twice!" Onniks criticized. "*sigh* Whatever. Any word from anyone?"

"Peridot already left with Dr. Maheswaran when you were crashed out. Still no word from Lapis, however" Garnet answered.

Onniks then walked over to the fridge, scouring it for any sign of food, but nothing seemed appetizing, save for a single bottle of Mountain Mist.

"Damn - last one" he spoke. "Gonna hafta do a store run later" he finished as he grabbed the bottle and cracked it open at the kitchen table and took a good chug. Shortly after, Lapis slammed open the front door with a shocked look on her face.

"Shit shit shit problem shit problem" Lapis repeated as she ran for the warp pad. "Problem shit problem problem shit..."

Lapis then reached the warp pad and activated it just as fast as she entered the house, not giving a brief explanation on what's going on.

Then, a humanoid shadow filled the front door frame. It was Pearl, however she appeared drastically different than a while ago.

Dyed loosely-spiked neon green hair.

Blue latex cardigan shirt.

Yellow shirt with green fishnet sleeves under the cardigan.

Black leather pants with chains wrapped around the hips.

Wide-heeled high heel boots.

A small silver purse slung over her right shoulder.

Pearl staggered in the house, holding an empty beer bottle and reeking of several kinds of alcohol.

"..Lassnite was *hic* was a fukken blass!" she slurred as she sprawled out on the couch.

"And where, exactly, did you go?" Garnet interrogated.

"To this kick-ass bachelor party" Pearl answered. "All I hadda doo was dance a little, and all those doodz just gave me wads of money"

Pearl then reached in the purse and pulled out a stack of cash and stuffed it back into the purse.

"For chrissakes, Pearl" Onniks spoke "don't tell me you actually stripped for all that money"

"What? Strip nothin'!" Pearl answered. "I was already butt-ass naked when I got there!"

"Pearl - yer killin' me over here!" Onniks muttered as he buried his face in his arms in shame.

Garnet was left in a bit of confusion in Pearls remark.

"Wait, so... if you went to the party 'butt-ass naked' like you said you did, then where did those clothes you're wearing now come from?"

"Welp *hic* I thought one of the gurlsh thare didn't wannem, seeing as how she jusht... lefftum on the floor, so I took 'em fer myself! Isn't this outfit just bad ass!?"

After a few moments, an air of silence filled the room, which was later broken by a loud snore; Pearl had passed out due to her intoxication. A flash of light then flickered from the back of the house; the warp pad had activated, with Lapis quietly stepping off it.

"Is... is it safe to come out?" she asked.

"Yeah, you're fine" answered Garnet. "She's fast asleep"

"*whew* Good. I don't want her trying to run me over like earlier"

"Run you over?" Garnet asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean on that motorcycle she was riding. Didn't either of you hear it pull up?"

"What - no" Onniks answered. "We didn't hear a sound"

"Yeah - its outside by the stairs if you wanna take a look"

Garnet and Onniks both got up and walked out on the porch, then looked over the railing, and there it was - a small-framed chrome chopper with a black gas tank. Garnet and Onniks, respectively, replied about the scene.

"You have got / To be kidding..."

"When did she get this" Garnet asked.

A worried expression then fell upon Lapis.

"...Before the party"


	24. An Acquaintance's Secret

Later that day, Onniks had returned home after doing some quick, last-minute shopping, with a case of Mountain Mist in one hand, and a plastic bag filled with basic sandwich-making items in the other. At the kitchen counter, he saw Pearl - hunched over with her head rested in her left hand and a cigarette to her mouth in the other. A thin mist of smoke enveloped the kitchen area.

Onniks then went to the fridge and stocked it with the sandwich materials and cans of soda.

"You know, Pearl;" Onniks spoke as he finished filling the fridge and approached her "as tolerant as I'm trying to be for the sake of... whatever you're going through... could you please like - not - smoke in here?"

"And just who the hell do you think you are - my mother?" Pearl replied as she took another drag of her cigarette. "Listen. I'm a Gem. I don't get sick or diseases or any of that shit - I'll be fine"

Onniks' patience started to dwindle upon hearing Pearl's condescending statement. As he looked her in the face, he notice that her eyes had dilated even further; the pupils covering almost her entire eye, save for small white areas in the corners of her eyes.

"Well, congratulations, Pearl - you don't get sick" he replied as he ripped the cigarette from her lips and smothered it out on the table "but guess what? I do. Don't smoke in here. Go outside if you're gonna do that"

"God, you're such a killjoy" Pearl responded as she got up from the table and put her hands in the leather jacket and proceeded towards the front door. "I need to get outta here for a bit..."

"Now, just hold on a second!" Onniks spoke as he tried to stop Pearl by turning her around at her left shoulder. "You can;t just-"

CRRAACCK!

"The hell I can't..." Pearl responded as she whacked Onniks in the forehead with a solid right fist, which sent him falling to the ground completely blacked out. She then walked down the steps and fired up the motorcycle, revving it up several times before going full throttle and speeding up the hill next to the house and down the street.

Later that day, Garnet and Lapis had returned to the house, only to find Onniks still unconscious on the floor.

"C'mon, loverboy - get up!" Garnet teased as she nudged him with her foot a couple times. However, there was no response from Onniks.

"Onniks - get a move on! People gotta walk through here" she continued, but he still didn't budge.

"Garnet, I think there might be something seriously wrong with him" Lapis spoke.

Garnet kneeled down and inspected Onniks, holding his wrist and checking for a pulse.

"He's alive, but barely" she replied. "It's possible whatever hit him put him in a coma"

Garnet then picked him up and carried him upstairs, setting him on Steven's bed.

"*cough cough* It both smell and tastes like nicotine down here" Lapis choked.

"Not to mention that the motorcycle was gone when we got here" Garnet added.

"...I think we found the culprit"

"Let's move"

Shortly before Garnet and Lapis arrived home, Pearl had already took off on the motorcycle down the main street and stopped at a gas station to refill the tank. As she shifted through the purse she obtained earlier for some money, she also came across several items she'd missed: a smartphone, a thin billfold, and a small clear plastic bag containing several candy-looking objects, some of which had been broken down into smaller chunks and powder.

She turned on the smartphone, opened the Boggle search engine, and filled in some keywords about the bagged candy: "round", "purple", "happy face" - she was struck with glee by the results of the search.

"Ho-ho-ho-holy shit!" Pearl whispered to herself. "A bagful of fucking Ex? Can this get any better?"

Pearl had heard of the name 'ecstasy' before, but had no idea what it looked like. She then opened the billfold and noticed not only a bit of cash inside it, but also an ID card with a familiar face on it.

"Oooh, yes it can!" she answered herself,. "And you live in town as well? Hope you don't mind surprise visitors..."

She paid for the gas, a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey, then took off towards the address listed on the ID.

After some twists and turns through a few side streets, Pearl had arrived at the address on the ID - it was a small, one-story house that was well-managed on the outside. Pearl walked up to the door and gave it a couple knocks and waited a moment. As the door opened, Pearl saw who she'd expected to see - Jessica Nightshade, from the renaissance fair.

"OH! Uh... hi, Pearl.... Funny running into you here" Jessica stuttered. "How, uh... how'd ya find me?

"Lemme in, and I'll show ya"

As Pearl was invited in, she sat down on a couch and displayed the purse to Jessica.

"Hey, my purse!" Jessica replied. I thought I lost that at the... uhh...:

"Bachelor party?" Pearl spoke for her, observing Jessica's nervousness in her reply.

"Wait - how'd you know I was-"

"I didn't. I was completely smashed by the time I got there. I do, however, vaguely remember a cute long-haired brunette there - but that's not what I wanna talk about"

"Oh - okay, what's up?"

"Well, all that money I got that night, I ended up shoving in your purse without thinking about it until earlier - had to get some out to get a couple things at a gas station. That's when I pulled out your billfold..."

Pearl reached in the purse, pulled out the billfold and set it on a table in front of her.

"...Your smartphone..."

Pearl then placed the phone on top of the billfold.

"...But more importantly - this"

Pearl pulled out the bag of ecstasy and dangled it in front of Jessica.

"Oh... Shit" Jessica responded. "*sigh* Alright, okay. At first, I did to help pay for my college tuition - not to mention that house rent and bills aren't exactly cheap around here. Don't get me wrong - I don't use it, just help a friend sell it"

"Relax, relax" Pearl reassured. "I'm not gonna judge you - but there is one thing I wanna know"

"What's that?"

"Where can I get more?

"O-Oh! My friend should be here sometime later - I think she'll hook you up if you got the cash"

Pearl then leaned back on the couch with her arms spread out across the top.

"So, uhh... what were you doing at that party last night?" Pearl asked.

"Just wanted to make some extra cash, is all" Jessica answered as she sat n the couch next to Pearl.

"You seemed to to have enjoyed it a little too much, just for some 'extra cash'. Like I mentioned earlier - I don't remember a whole lot about it, but I kinda do remember you being there"

"Actually, I didn't enjoy it all that much" Jessica spoke back as she scooched closer to Pearl, the sides of their bodies touching each others. "...Not my kind of people, you know" she finished as she stared at Pearl embarrassingly.

Pearl gave a small smirk, knowing almost exactly what Jessica was saying.

They leaned into each other, their lips pressed together as their tongues began massaging each other. 

With her hands caressing Jessica's face, Pearl guided her back as they both lay down on the couch, with Pearl laying near weightlessly on Jessica. Pearl's hands slid down from Jessica's face to her chest and began rubbing her soft breasts, using her fingertips as she teased her nipples.

Pearl's hands then continued to glide further downward along Jessica's torso and to her belt line of her skirt. She then slid her hands under her blouse and began sliding it up, exposing Jessica's toned body inch by inch as the blouse reached the underside of her breasts.

DING DING!

The doorbell to the house rang, snapping both the girls back into reality.

"Son of a bitch!" Pearl sprang up and cried out in defeat, which caused Jessica to burst out in laughter.

Pearl got up from laying on Jessica and went to answer the door.

"I swear to Christ - this better be important" she muttered.

As she opened the door, she saw a young woman standing there, roughly the same age as Jessica and dressed in goth attire: long black hair, several eyebrow piercings, a black underground metal band t-shirt with a rip at the shoulder as it dangled to the side, and a pair of black skin-tight pants with deep side pockets and long straps hanging off it.

The girl scanned Pearl from head to toe, admiring the view.

"Daaamn, lady - that is one smokin' getup!"

"Heh - gotta stay classy, right? Come on in" Pearl invited as she opened the door further, allowing the girl to enter.

"So this must mean that if you're here, then you've already met Jessica?"

"Yep - and my hands were about to meet ALL of her, but that plan got ruined"

"Hehehe. Sorry to crash the party" the girl chuckled.

"Molly? Is that you?" Jessica's voice echoed in the living room.

"Yeeeaap - making a drop-off for ya"

Jessica then walked over to the two girls at the entrance to the living room.

"Oh - I see you two've met"

"Not formally" Pearl replied. "Hey. Name's Pearl" she addressed the new girl - Molly - with a wave of her hand.

"Is that because of that accessory on your forehead?" Molly asked.

"Accessory my ass, sweetheart. Lemme see your hand"

As Molly extended her hand towards Pearl, Pearl then grabbed it and used it to rub against her gem, allowing Molly to acknowledge its authenticity.

"Holy shit it's real..." Molly spoke in awe. "That's... that's hardcore. Oh - I'm Molly, by the way. It's not my real name - just a nickname I always go by"

"Molly' for a nickname?" Pearl asked. "I gotta admit - that's pretty girly from someone like you"

"Well, there's a reason for that" Molly answered. She reached in one of her side pockets and pulled out a clear bag that contained the same type of ecstasy as Pearl had before.

"Wait - you're calling Ex 'Molly' now?" Pearl asked.

"Yep. Helps throw the cops off. Jess - catch" Molly spoke to her as she tossed the clear bag to Jessica.

"Thanks a bunch. Mol!" Jessica replied.

"Just remember my cut, alright?"

Molly then pulled out another bag from her opposite side pocket and refocused her attention back to Pearl.

"Got some 'free samples' if you're interested"

"Sure - let's have a taste"

Molly then pulled out a small chunk of a broken-down pill and held it in her fingertips.

"Alright - stick out your tongue" she insisted, which Pearl obliged. Molly then leaned in closer to Pearl and mirrored her. As Molly set the chunk on her tongue, she placed it inside Pearl's mouth, their moist lips rubbing against each other, letting their saliva melt the illicit mdicine as they both massage the remainder of the pill along the contours of their mouths.

After a few moments, Molly pulled away from Pearl and took a step back.

"That's all you're gettin' for a free sample. If you want more, you gotta pay up"

"No problem. Follow me"

Pearl and Molly walked over to the table in the living room and picked up Jessica's purse, retrieving her money that was still inside it.

"How much for the whole bag?"

"...Five hundred"

Pearl then unraveled the wad of cash and began counting out the money Molly requested in fifty-dollar bills, with an extra two hundred fifty dollars. As she put her man wad of cash in her cardigan pocket and rolled up Molly's money into a smaller roll, Molly tried accepting it, but Pearl nudged her hand to the side.

Instead, Pearl slid the rolled-up bills down the front side of Molly's pants, which put a surprised expression on Molly's face. As Pearl moved her wrist around, Molly took a short gasp of air inwards as she felt where Pearl had placed the bills.

"Keep the change" Pearl replied as she gave Molly one last kiss and stepped away from her.

Molly, still stiff as a board in shock of feeling Pearl's placement of her payment, awkwardly walked towards the front door.

"I'll be back later, 'kay Jess?" Molly replied with a high pitch voice as the front door shut after her.

"Well... this is gonna be an interesting night" Jessica responded as Molly made her exit.

"Night's still young" Pearl replied. "C'mon - Let's go have some fun"

"Ehh... think I'll pass. Got an essay to finish"

"Suit yourself" Pearl replied simply.

As Pearl hopped back on the motorcycle and fired it up, she took a swig of the whiskey she obtained earlier and headed down the street, ready to see where the night was going to take her.


	25. Half-Mile Mishaps

Pearl waited at a stop light on the right hand side of the road after a few short turns from Jessica's house. She cracked open the bottle of whiskey and took another swig as she waited for the light to turn green. As she continued to wait for the seemingly slow-changing light to switch over, a red convertible pulled up beside her on her left side. In the vehicle, two men - the driver and a passenger riding shotgun dressed in a retro-style fashion - stared at her nonchalantly.

"Hey, baby!" the passenger spoke "What's shakin'?"

"Your head as I strangle you by your neck if you don't shut the hell up"

Pearl then took out the pack of cigarettes and pulled a single stick out, lighting it up and taking a drag as she continued to wait for the never-ending red light to change.

"Aww, don't be like that" the driver replied. "We were just wondering if you wanted to have a little fun - that's all"

"Yes, I'd love to have some fun" Pearl answered him. "No, I don't wanna have fun with you clowns, so fuck off"

The passenger then displayed a clear plastic bag with a few buds of marijuana at Pearl.

"You sure? We can totally make it worth your while" he replied as he shook the bag at her.

Pearl, agitated by the men's persistence, grabbed the bottle of whiskey at the neck.

"I said... Fuck... OFF!" she yelled as she threw the bottle at the passenger, smashing the right side of his face open and busting his nose and cheek bone.

"The fuck's your problem, bitch!?" the driver hollered, shifting his focus between Pearl and his bleeding friend. Just then, the traffic light finally changed color.

"Maybe now when someone tells you 'no', you'll actually listen - but I doubt you will" Pearl answered as she putted away across the street.

Pearl pulled into a parking lot next to a cafe, puffing on the rest of her cigarette and watching the sunset and several vehicles and motorcycles pass on the street.

As one of the motorcycles pass, the sound of squealing tires were heard seconds later, followed by an engine revving down, but approaching Pearl.

A blue crotch rocket inched up to Pearl; its operator was a young adult male with short black hair and a jumpsuit matching his bike, and the passenger - a rather attractive female with blonde hair in a ponytail and a suit just like her male counterpart.

"Nice eight point five you got there" Pearls spoke to the operator of the motorcycle with a smirk.

"Thanks!" the operator replied. "Only two more payments, and the bike's aaalll miiine"

"Fuck your bike" Pearl commented "I was talkin' about that hottie on the back seat", to which the girl snubbed Pearl off.

"Ahhh, so you go THAT way, I see"

"I go wherever the money takes me"

"Good to know, 'cuz I was wonderin' if you were interested in a friendly wager"

Pearl then too another drag of her cigarette and replied "I'm listening"

"Well, when I passed by ya a few seconds ago, I noticed that ou looked bored out of your mind, so I swung back around and wanted to see if you wanted to have a little more excitement"

"Spill it - I ain't got all night, kid"

"Wanna have a race?"

"Pearl pondered his request as she took one last drag of her cigarette and put it out.

"Sure. Why not?"

"You... DO have money, right? Sorry, but we don't exactly bet with rainbows and lollipops"

Pearl pulled out her roll of money from her cardigan and flashed it at the kid.

"This enough? There's a full grand there"

The kid reached in a pouch that was placed between the handle bars on his bike and pulled out some money of his own.

"Sorry - fifteen minimum. Unless you have something else to put up..."

Pearl thought about what else she could use as collateral for a moment, then realized what she could use. She pulled out the back of ecstacy she got from Molly earlier and shown it to the kid.

"How about this?" Pearl inquired.

The kid looked closer at the bag and took note of its contents.

"Oh, yeah - that'll definitely work" he confirmed. "Alright - lemme make a phone call real quick and get everything set up"

He hopped off his bike and took a few steps away for privacy as he pulled out a cell phone and began making a call, while Pearl continued to sit patiently on her chopper. After a few short minutes, the kid returned to his bike and hopped back on.

"Okay - got everything set up. Now, it's a small race, so don't expect anything extravagant or anything. Follow me"

Pearl followed him back to the same intersection where she had the confrontation with the two men in the convertible a short time ago, where the kid waited for her on her left.

"So... this is a pretty simple race" the kid stated. "Just a straight shot down the road we're facing about a half mile down with a couple turns. Race starts on the green light"

After several seconds of anticipation, the traffic light flicked over to the green light, and both racers pulled back on the throttle as far as they could, screeching their tires all the way down the street.

The kid's bike was just a little bit quicker than Pearl's, which let him slowly gain some distance ahead of her.

As a left turn came close, the kid was forced to downshift in order to slow down and take the corner, however this allowed Pearl some extra time to catch up and maneuver the corner easily without having to slow down.

As the kid slowly catches up to Pearl as they approach a right turn with the finish line and a small crowd in the distance, the passenger decided to come up with a plan of her own. She opened up a compartment on the right side of the bike and pulled out a whip. She then snapped it at Pearl's left leg and latched onto it.

Pearl, feeling the whip tug at her leg, reacted out of instinct. Without hesitation, she summoned her spear in her left hand and, with a single swing, sliced the whip off her leg, despawned the spear and continued to navigate the corner without losing speed.

The kid, watching Pearl spawn a spear from nothing, stared in awe at the scene, unknowingly slowing down on accident. As he regained focus, he punched on the throttle all the way as he tried to catch up once again. However, by the time the front tire on his bike caught up to the rear tire on Pearl's, the race had ended. Pearl had won, despite having a minor setback due to an intervening passenger.

As the bikes come to a stop, Pearl casually removed herself from hers, where she then approached the girl passenger and instantly sucker-punched her in the nose, sending the girl off the bike at the same time.

"That's whatcha get for tryin' to cheat, you bitch" Pearl criticized the girl on the ground, then switched her attention to the male operator. "And you - cough up the dough"

The kid, however, shied away from Pearl as he dug in his pouch and handed her the money. As she unraveled the roll, her thrill died down. The roll had only a hundred-dollar bill on the outside, which was camouflaging a handful of one-dollar bills.

"You tried short-changing me?" Pearl scolded the kid as she grabbed him by his jumpsuit. "Where's the rest of my money, you sniveling little shit!?"

"I-I don't have it!" he responded. "I thought I could win, so..."

Pearl then loosened her grip on him, but still remained held onto his suit.

"Tell ya what - here's what we're gonna do" Pearl spoke. "You're gonna get every single one of your friends together and throw me a party at my place in both my victory of the race AND my mercy for not beating you to a bloody pulp. And don't forget the goodies"

"I'm sorry - 'goodies'?"

Pearl then pulled out her bag of pills from her cardigan and dangled it in the kid's face.

"Yeah - 'goodies'. My place - house on the beach next to the ocean,. You have one hour. DON'T be late"

Pearl released him and got back on her motorcycle, started it up and headed for the beach house, anticipating the party that was bound to arrive.


	26. From Bad to Worse

It was three in the morning, and the party that was thrown in Pearl's honor was at its peak. The house was littered with a horde of party-goers, strobe lights, glow sticks, and a large bowl of a mixture of various illicit pharmaceuticals rested on the kitchen counter.

Upstairs in Steven's room, some of the attendees had moved the still-unconscious Onniks from the bed to the floor beside the window to make room for a triad of nude and drunk females engaged in a threesome.

Meanwhile, outside, Garnet and Lapis finally returned home, worn out after a failed extensive search for Pearl's whereabouts. As the approached the house, the sounds of techno music and the flashes of strobe lights can both be seen and heard from the base of the house.

"Garnet" Lapis spoke "What the hell's going on in there!?"

"Intruders" Garnet replied. "Dammit - we were too careless leaving the house unattended for too long! Let's move!"

As they both ran up the stairs and in the house, what they noticed left them in shock and disgust - the billowing of toxic smoke filling nearly the entire house, several people dancing arhythmically to the music on the living room floor, even a couple people took a seat at the kitchen table, piercing themselves with syringes.

Garnet's rage was nearly uncontrollable. She couldn't afford to clench her fists out of fear of fracturing her gemstones in her palms. As she looked more around the room, she spotted two people - a young man and a woman - casually conversing with each other near the steps to Steven's room. Without a second though, Garnet pulled them both to the side and dragged them near the front door.

"Who are you!?" Garnet demanded. "Who the hell said you could be here? Answer me, dammit!"

"W-w-wwe don't know!" the man replied, nearly scared to death. "We were invited here, but we don't know her name"

"What did she look like?"

"Lemme see, uhh...pale white skin, dyed green hair, this weird round thing on her head..."

"What was that last part?"

"Sh-she had some... thing on her forehead - something like an oval"

"Pearl....." Garnet thought to herself.

"C-can we go now?" the man nervously asked.

"Of course"

WOOOSH... WOOOSH...

Garnet threw the two out of the front door and over the porch.

"Lapis - you go check on Pearl" Garnet ordered. "I'm gonna clear out the mess in here"

"Right - I'm on it" Lapis confirmed, then made her way towards the back door, dodging and avoiding the attendees along the way.

"Alright - time to clean house" Garnet spoke to herself as she patted her hands together.

WOOSH WOOSH... WOOSH

Three more bodies were sent hurling outside. Seconds later, the entire mob of partiers fled the scene in a hurry. Even the three lewd lovers neglected their belongings as they ran down the street in the buff.

Meanwhile, Lapis had discretely entered Pearl's bedroom, remaining as silent as possible. As she looked around the immediate area, she spotted a glinting object floating in the water. She picked it up and looked at it - it was Pearl's bag of ecstasy, now half consumed.

A feint sound could be heard above her. As Lapis focused her attention towards the direction of the sound, she heard light moaning being called out. Lapis then focused her attention further on the sound and heard a familiar voice.

"Just like that... Just like that..."

Curious as to what was being said, Lapis grew out her wings and gave flight, hovering silently as possible. As she peered in the direction of the sound, what she saw then both angered and disgusted her: Pearl and two other men - completely unclothed, with Pearl's legs wrapped around one of the men's waist as both men repeatedly thrusted their desires into Pear from both sides.

Lapis landed silently next to them, not saying a word.

"Hiiii, Laaapis..." Pearl spoke in a relaxed tone as her arms dangled to the side.

As Lapis looked at her, she noticed that Pearl had changed again; her eyes were now solid black - no speck of white could be seen, her hair was now thinning out, and her gem was beginning to darken. Considering Pearl's condition, Lapis could no longer hold her accountable - now her attention was drawn to the men, and the men's attention - now to her. They both set Pearl down and confronted Lapis.

"Hey, check it out - another hottie!" the man that Pearl was attached to spoke.

"Man, she's fuckin' gorgeous!" the other man replied. " Hey - lookin' for a good time there, sweet cheeks?"

Lapis made no reply. Instead, she raised her left hand and manipulated the surrounding water from Pearl's room and formed two separate water orbs next to one of the men, with one orb slightly above the other as neither of them paid any attention to what Lapis was doing.

"You... You're disgusting. Despicable." Lapis criticized the two men. "You have the audacity to take advantage of her like this? In this state of mind? Can't you tell she's not mentally stable?"

"Aw, c'mon, baby, don't be like that" the first man answered. "It's not like she's gonna remember any of this anyways"

Those words only angered Lapis further. With a grit of her teeth and a swipe of her left hand, a single spout of water shot out of both orbs horizontally, impaling both men through the neck and waist. Their bodies relaxed as they lost consciousness, and the blood that they lost was being absorbed in the wather that pierced them, not spilling a single drop.

With her left hand still raised, Lapis controlled the orbs that hoisted the men telepathically, moving wherever her hand went. As she started to leave, she heard Pearl's voice once again.

"Hmhmhm... For a good time, call... ME! Hahahaha!"

Lapis couldn't leave Pearl alone in this state of vulnerability. With her right hand, Lapis conjured another orb from the surrounding water which took the form of a hand, carefully scooping up Pearl while Lapis controlled the water formations and led them out of the bedroom.

As Lapis stepped on the warp pad still in possession of the carcasses, she manipulated the water hand carrying Pearl to set her on the ground, while Lapis cancelled the water spell, splashing on both Pearl and the floor.

Garnet then approached Lapis after hearing the water hit the floor.

"Lapis! What is this? What's going on?" Garnet asked.

"I'll... I'll be back in just a few minutes"

"Where are you going?"

"I... just need to take out some trash, is all"

Garnet rubbed her head and gave a depressing sigh, understanding the situation.

"*sigh*... Alright - understood. I'll be here until then"

Lapis, giving only a nod in confirmation, activated the warp pad, taking the bodies with her.

Garnet then returned to the kitchen table where the bowl of illegal merchandise was and surrounded it inside a pink bubble, which disappeared instantly.

As she looked back at the warp pad, she spotted Pearl still laying soaken wet on the floor beside it. Garnet - not wanting to leave her there - grabbed a blanket from the small closet under the stairs to Steven's room, then went back to Pearl and wrapped her in it, then picked her up and returned her back into her bedroom.

Several moments later, a tired groaning sound was heard upstairs. As Garnet ran up to investigate, she found Onniks slowly regaining consciousness. He had lifted himself back onto Steven's bed, only to roll to the other side and sit back up.

"Man, I feel like I just got ran over by Greg's van" Onniks groggily spoke. "How long was I out?"

"All day" Garnet answered. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Pearl's fist in my face. How is she, by the way? Anyone ever find her?"

"Yeah - we found her. She's in her bedroom resting up right now"

"Awesome - that's definitely good to hear"

Onniks then tried standing up, staggering with each step as he walked towards the stairs.

"Alright - gimme your hand" Garnet spoke to Onniks "You're never gonna make it down those stairs by yourself in one piece at this rate"

As they slowly made it downstairs to the couch, they waited for any updates from the other gems.

A few minutes later, the warp pad activated, where Lapis and Peridot coincidentally bumped into each other.

"What... where'd YOU go that required the use of the warp pad?" Peridot questioned.

"Oh, just... had to drop a couple things off" Lapis replied.

"*sigh* Whatever. Anyway - I have news"

"Good news or bad news" Garnet asked.

"Both, unfortunately" Peridot answered. "Trust me - you'll wanna hear the bad news first"

"Alright - out with it"

"It's about Pearl, she's... going corrupt"


	27. Back to Normal

"What the hell did you just say!?" Garnet yelled as she bashed the sides of her fists against the table.

"Wait - what the hell does 'going corrupt' mean?" Onniks asked.

Garnet, taking a breath to try to calm down, answered his question.

"It's when the mind and body of a Gem becomes warped and twisted, making them go insane and turning them into vile monsters"

"Couldn't we just do that 'poofing' thing so that way Pearl doesn't go around town acting crazy?" 

"NO! For the love of the Diamonds - don't do that!" Peridot yelled. "Right now, Pearl's body is the only thing slowing down the infection - you poof her and and the infection will go to her gem directly and hasten the corruption process"

"Son of a bitch... Peridot, your good news better be worth it"

"And it is" she replied. "We've found a cure to reverse the process, however we're missing just one more plant, and I can't get to by myself on foot - which is why I came back"

"Why - what is it about this plant that you can't get to it?" Garnet inquired.

"Oh... it's on top of a small mesa or plateau or something surrounded by tall cliffs - listen - I don't know anything on land formations, just that I know where the plant is, and I can't exactly jump a hundred feet away to get to it"

"Well, if distance is your problem, I can help with that" Onniks offered.

"Hmm.. Your portal ability would definitely help in this situation..."

"Think you can handle it?" Garnet asked Onniks "You've been out for a while"

"Yeah, I think I can manage"

"Then it's settled - you two go on ahead. Lapis and I'll keep an eye on Pearl"

"Roger dodger" Onniks replied "Be back in a few"

Onniks and Peridot then took their leave via the warp pad, where they were transported to an outside area with a tall hill and a steep cliff.

"The plant's on a land structure just beyond that cliff over there" Peridot pointed out.

"Alright. Let's go" Onniks replied.

The two trekked across the hill a few minutes until they reached the cliff, where the pillar of land that Peridot mentioned could be seen in the distance.

"See what I mean?" Peridot spoke. "There's no way I'd make that"

"Yeah, I gotcha. Gimme one second"

Onniks stuck out his hand and conjured a black orb in his palm, which expanded into an arch. Beyond the arch, the plant that was many feet away now appeared as mere inches. Peridot - skeptical of the illusion - reluctantly approached the portal.

"You... really think its safe?" she asked.

"*sigh* No, Peridot. My physical body dissipates with excruciating pain once I enter, then reassembles itself once I'm on the other side."

"Ugh. Condescending pain in the ass..."

"Ask a stupid question"

"Whatever. Here I go"

Peridot bunny hopped through the portal, still uncertain of the outcome. Once she was on the other side, her fear of travelling through portals faded.

"Well - that wasn't as bad as I predicted" Peridot stated. "Okay, just gimme a minute to gather a few leaves, and we'll be on our way"

After some rustling in the bush and a few tugs from the vines, she gathered the leaves she required. They then made their way back to the warp pad, then teleported back home where Garnet and Lapis continued to stand by.

"Did you get everything you needed?" Garnet asked Peridot.

"Yes. I'm on my way back to the hospital now"

"Good - we'll leave you to continue your research. Remember: make no room for error - we don't have enough time for a second chance"

"Understood. I'll be back soon"

Peridot headed back to the hospital, while Onniks entered the living room.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked.

"All we can do is place our faith in Peridot and wait for the time being" Garnet answered.

"I just hope Peridot comes back soon with some results" Lapis spoke. "I'm not sure how much more I can take of this"

"I hear ya on that one" Onniks replied, as he opened the fridge and pulled out a can of Mountain Mist, taking a sip as he continued. "Pearl's random behavior is driving me to drink"

Several hours pass by, but no word of either Pearl or Peridot has been heard. Onniks, Garnet and Lapis stretched out on the couch in the living room taking a nap, the boredom of waiting burdened them with fatigue.

Then the slam of the front door woke the three up, startling them to their feet.

"The hell was that?" Onniks asked. "Did someone come in?"

They scoured the immediate area, including the kitchen and Steven's room, searching for anyone that may have entered.

"No one's here" Lapis commented.

"If no one entered, then that means that someone left" Garnet spoke.

"Think it coulda been Pearl?" Onniks questioned.

"Only one way to find out. Let's move"

They sprinted out the door and stood on the patio, keeping an eye out for anyone nearby. Then, out in the distance, they spotted a figure dressed similar to Pearl's fashion standing on the beach, staring at the ocean as the tides roll in.

Garnet and Onniks ran down the stairs and across the sand to confront the person, while Lapis sprouted her wings and glided her way down past them on the other side of the beachfarer.

As the closed in on her, the could tell that it was her, however she had undergone more physical changes: her hair was thinning and falling out, and her shirt appeared to be two sizes too large on her. Garnet was first to speak to her.

"Pearl - there you are! How're you holding up?"

"...Holding up just fine..." Pearl replied in an ominous tone.

As she twisted her head to her left to look behind her, what everyone saw threw them in shock: both Pearl's eyes and eyelids were now completely missing - as if staring into a pair of deep caves.

"...Why do you ask?" Pearl continued as she gave a sinister smile.

"Shit - she's getting worse!" Onniks exclaimed.

While Pearl had her attention focused on Garnet and Onniks, Lapis quietly circled behind her at a distance and, with the ocean at Lapis' right side, conjured a watery hand just like the one in Pearl's room as silently as possible. While she telepathically controlled the watery form with her right hand, she swooped horizontally with it, using the construct to try to apprehend Pearl. 

Pearl, however, had anticipated Lapis' move and flipped over the hand backwards as if it were second nature. She then landed on her hands and pushed off them towards Lapis, delivering a pair of feet to her chest which sent her tumbling across the sand, knocking the wind out of her.

Pearl then stood back up and began shifting her attention between Onniks and Garnet.

"So - who wants to be my next play toy?" Pearl asked with a wicked grin as she spawned her spear.

Garnet and Onniks knew right then that Pearl was being serious. Onniks took a couple steps away from Garnet for arm room and summoned his weapon as well.

Garnet then put her fists by her sides, ready to guard if necessary.

"Remember - try not to poof her" Garnet reminded Onniks.

"I understand your concern, but don't worry - I got this"

With her spear pulled back under her arm, Pearl charged at Onniks, who took up a defensive stance as he awaited her attack.

As Pearl kept sprinting towards Onniks, she changed directions immediately while she was several feet away from him and took a few steps towards Garnet. She then brought her spear above her shoulder and threw it at Garnet.

Garnet - unable to utilize her Future Vision due to not anticipating Pearl to use such a tactic - froze in place as she couldn't decide how to react and took the blade of the spear on the left side of her chest, piercing her straight through her body.

As Garnet's holographic body dissipated, the gemstones embedded in her palms fell into the sand.

Meanwhile, Lapis struggled as she stood back up, clenching at her chest in pain with each breath she took.

With Pearl's attention focused back on Onniks, he tried to lure her further down the beach away from Lapis and Ruby and Sapphire's gemstones to recover undisturbed.

"That's it... Come to papa" Onniks coaxed her towards him, signaling with his right hand for her to approach.

Pearl took several steps towards him slowly, then - as fast as she could - sprinted at him in full stride, lunging onto him and forcing him to the sand, losing possession of his weapon on the way down. She then proceeded to strangle him at the neck while repeatedly bashing the back of his head on the ground.

Onniks tried pulling her hands off of him, but didn't want to risk severely injuring her to the point of poofing her, either.

His consciousness slowly fading, he loosened his grasp from Pearl's wrists and dropped his hands to the side. His final few breaths were leaving his lungs, when...

*whooo-tsshh*

Onniks, with his blurred vision, saw what appeared to be a black line with purple spots on it wrap around Pearl's torso and arms and tugged her off him. He then groggily stood back up and took some deep breaths to refill his lungs with air. As he regained his composure, he recognized what tied Pearl down, and remembered who it belonged to.

"Amethyst! Hey! Glad you could join the party" Onniks spoke to her, who was standing near the bottom of the steps to the house.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late - just wanted to double check things around here" she replied as she approached Onniks and coiled up her whip along the length of her forearm. "Has anyone seen Steven lately? Haven't seen him in a while - what's going on?"

"He's spending the night at Connie's house for a bit until thing cool off over here"

"Alright - that makes sense. So then that means Pearl's still being a bitch?"

"Well, yeah, I mean - what with the whole 'getting tackled like a linebacker then strangled by the neck' thing you probably saw - but it's not her fault"

"Care to explain how it's not?"

"Short answer - she's going corrupt"

"What the hell did you just say?" Amethyst demanded as she tightened the hold around Pearl. "How did all that happen?"

"Not so tight!" Onniks told her "If she get's poofed, then the infection will go directly to her gem and infect her faster"

"Dammit... alright" Amethyst replied, releasing some of the tension of her whip, but still holding Pearl securely. "But still - how did this happen?"

Lapis, now recovered from Pearl's attack, recovered Ruby and Sapphire's gemstones and approached Onniks and Amethyst, merely listening on the conversation.

"Remember a few days ago when Pearl was hit with that weird black powdery stuff?"

"Yeah - what about it?"

"Turns out it was some recent form of Gem corrupting agent - courtesy of Homeworld"

"What!? You're tellin' me there's nothing we can do!?"

"I didn't say that. In fact - Peridot has already been developing a cure for Pearl"

"At least there's some good news in all this. An word from her lately?"

"No, not yet - its already been several hours. I just hope she shows back up soon, because I'm not sure how much longer I can try to hold Pearl off without suffering a concussion"

Right then, the front door slammed closed. As Onniks, Amethyst and Lapis switched their attention to the door, that's where they saw Peridot standing on the porch.

"Fortunately, you don't have to wait any longer - I have the cure right here" Peridot spoke as she walked down the wooden stairs and towards the group, holding a small vial filled with a light green watery liquid, a thin clear rubber hose and a funnel.

The gemstones in Lapis' hands started to resonate. As she released them, Ruby and Sapphire - not bothering to reform back into their selves - instead closed in on each other as a large white aura enveloped both gems, which then made Garnet reappear instantly.

"Welcome back, Garnet!" Lapis spoke.

"Glad to be back - thanks, Lapis" Garnet replied. "Did I miss anything?"

"We were able to develop a working cure for Pearl's corruption" Peridot answered. "However, I'll be needing help administering it"

"What kind of help?"

"Well - in order for Pearl to take the cure, she needs to ingest it. However, I need to get this hose down her throat to make sure she doesn't use her gag reflexes and spit it back out". Peridot then unraveled the hose and connected the funnel to one of the ends. "What I'll need help with is making sure Pearl keeps her mouth open and her teeth separated so that way she doesn't puncture the hose"

"Let me help with that part" Garnet offered. She raised her right hand and spawned her gauntlet on it. "Pearl won't be able to bite through my gauntlet, so I'll be able to keep her mouth open with it. It'll be the safer route for everybody"

"Alright - let's get this over with, shall we? Amethyst, could you lean her up, please?"

"Sure thing - one sec!"

With a careful tug of her whip, Amethyst leaned Pearl up on her knees where Peridot didn't have to struggle as she administered the cure.

As Peridot walked up to Pearl, the first thing she noticed was her missing eyes.

"Eeeeuuugh..." Peridot groaned in disgust. She then glanced back at Onniks, then back to Pearl, then Onniks, Pearl, Onniks, then finally stopping at Pearl. "Don't worry - I completely understand" Peridot spoke to the incoherent Pearl "I'd melt my eyes as well if I had to look at him for another second"

Upon hearing Peridot's remark, Onniks pulled out his smartphone from his pocket and began fiddling with it.

"Is... something wrong?" Lapis asked him.

"Huh? Oh - no. Just need to set an alarm real quick"

"An alarm? At this time?"

"Yeah, uh, just needs to be about an hour from now as a reminder to kick Peridot's ass once this is over"

"D'EEEGH!" Peridot cringed as she overheard Onniks threat. "Llllet's just get this over with, shall we? Garnet - if you don't mind...?"

Garnet gave a simple nod in confirmation and approached Pearl until she was about a step away from her. Assuming Garnet's presence as a threat, Pearl hissed at Garnet like a feral animal. Taking this opportunity, Garnet then quickly placed two of her fingers in Pearl's mouth. Pearl attempted to bite through Garnet's gauntlets, but her plan backfired.

"Bite as hard as you want" Garnet spoke to her "you'll break your teeth sooner than you'll break the armor on my gauntlet". Remembering Peridot's task, Garnet used her two fingers and pried open Pearl's mouth and tilted her head backwards.

"Perfect, Garnet - hold her just like that" Peridot spoke. Peridot then proceeded to insert the non-funnel side of the hose down Pearl's throat while holding the funnel side at eye level. with a flick of her thumb from her free hand, she unscrewed the cap from the vial, then poured the contents down the funnel until the last drop traveled down the hose.

"Okay - what's next, Peridot?" Garnet asked.

"We need to wait a minute for the cure to be absorbed into Pearl's body. Unfortunately, the hose needs to stay in for a bit longer so that way she doesn't try to heave everything out beforehand"

After a minute of waiting as Peridot suggested, Pearl's rowdiness had finally calmed down. Peridot carefully removed the hose from Pearl and secured it in her hand.

"Alright - now you can lay her down, Amethyst" Peridot reminded her.

Amethyst gently lowered Pearl to the ground on her stomach, where she calmly fell asleep. As Amethyst released her whip, it dissipated in thin air immediately.

Pearl reactively changed her body position and buried her face in her left arm, using her forearm as support; she writhed in agony as the medicine continued to filter out the corruption that was residing in her.

As the medicine continued to run its course, Pearl's body slowly began returning to normal. Her first noticeable change was that her hair started to revert back to before she was infected as streaks of white light emitted from her head the length of her hair then changed color.

Garnet, being closest to Pearl, rolled her on her side to inspect her further; Pearl's eyelids had been restored. Garnet then lifted one of Pearl's eyelids and noticed that while she still had no pupils, her eyes were now fully white.

"Alright - time to get you inside" Garnet spoke to Pearl as she kneeled down and picked her up.

The group followed right behind Garnet as she carried Pearl all the way inside the house and placed her on Steven's bed so they could keep an eye on her while they waited downstairs.

"So how long's it gonna take for that green goop to take full effect?" Onniks asked Peridot.

"Well, the doctor said probably about an hour, but seeing as how fast the medicine took effect shortly after Pearl ingested it - I'd estimate maybe... thirty-five? Forty-five minutes?"

"Uuuugh... all this waiting is driving me nuts"

"Just take a couple deep breaths and relax" Garnet suggested. "Patience is a virtue, after all"

"Obviously I'm not a virtuous person, then"

The gang hung out in the living room in silence for a while as they waited on Pearl's recovery when a creak from a wooden board in the direction of the staircase to Steven's room broke the silence. As everyone glanced over, that's when they saw Pearl standing at the bottom of the staircase wrapped in a white bedsheet - nearly fully recovered, save for a little shivering and a saddened expression on her face, almost in tears. Everyone rose to their feet in shock of seeing her standing there after such a fast recovery.

"Here - let me help you" Lapis spoke to Pearl, assisting her to the middle of the couch between her and Onniks.

"I'll get some tea ready - it'll help warm you up" said Garnet as she walked into the kitchen and began shuffling some appliances around the lower cupboards.

Everyone else re-assumed their original spots as they patiently waited on Pearl.

"*sniff*...I...I just..." Pearl started to speak, but interrupted herself as she clenched onto Onniks' right arm, burying her face between his arm and chest. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she apologized, squeezing onto Onniks' arm a bit harder.

Lapis scooched closer to Pearl, wrapping her arms around Pearl's waist and placing her head on her right shoulder.

"It's alright" Lapis comforted her. "We know you didn't do everything that you did intentionally"

"But I can't help but still feel guilty about it all"

"But you shouldn't" Onniks replied. "I mean - it's not like you went out and killed anybody, right?"

Lapis, hearing Onniks' question, discretely pulled away from Pearl and curled up in a small ball, wrapping her arms around her own waist.

"Of course I didn't" Pearl answered.

"Then there's nothing to worry about"

Pearl sat by in silence for a few moments, recollecting her thoughts of the recent events that passed.

"...The worse part about all this?" Pearl continued "I remember every little thing that happened during all of this"

"...I think that the sooner we stop talking about this," Onniks replied "the sooner we can forget that this ever happened"

Soon after Onniks finished his comment, Garnet approached Pearl and passed to her a small teacup filled with some warm tea. Pearl thanked her, then continued to conversation she was carrying with Onniks.

"You absolutely sure you wanna go through with that?" she asked, taking a small sip of the tea.

"Oooh, yeah. Besides - for some reason, I have this funny feeling that there's some things I'd rather not know what happened, anyways"


	28. Castaway

Several days had went by since Pearl's corruption, and no sign of trouble had been noticed. It was late in the afternoon, and the Gems - bored out of their minds in the living room - had been waiting for something to happen.

The table in the living room had been relocated to make room for Steven, Peridot and Lapis who were stretched out along the floor watching a movie on the holojector. Pearl and Amethyst were helping each other fold a basket of laundry, and Garnet and Onniks were watching the movie as well, although with slightly less awe than the three on the floor.

During the movie, there was a scene where a group of people dressed in similar one-piece suits stood on a platform with lighted disks and disappeared with a glittering effect. As Garnet watched the scene, a memory shook loose just then - the memory of her telling Onniks that she'd teach him about using the warp pad..

"That's right - I had completely forgotten about that!" She blurted out loud, which caused everyone to glance over at her. "Onniks - come with me"

"Huh? Why - what's up?" he asked.

"Remember when I told you that you needed to learn how to use the warp pad?"

"Yeeeaaah...?"

"Come - now couldn't be a better time since we aren't doing anything anyways"

"Good point. Alright - let's go"

As they both stood up and headed for the warp pad, Peridot stood up and made a request.

"Hey, uhh... can I come along? I know you're not gonna be long - I just wanna stretch out a bit after laying on that hard floor"

"Sure - come on" Garnet approved. The three then stepped on the warp pad, where Garnet activated it and sent them away.

Several moments later they arrive in a tropical area, with a thin beach on their left that curved around, and palm trees to the right. A warm, serene breeze blown across as they stepped off the pad and observed their surroundings.

"This place is rather relaxing" Onniks spoke. "Any reason you chose to come here?"

"No, not really" she replied. "Just wanted to go someplace close by, is all"

"Okay, I gotcha. So - what do I gotta do?"

"First, let me explain: One of the things you need to know is that you can't go to a place you haven't been to yet. You try to do that randomly, and you could go to a planet poisonous to humans - or even nowhere at all"

"That's... rather frightening to think about. Is that the reason you had to bring me here?"

"Correct. Now, for a little 'hands-on' activity: What you need to do to use the warp pad is stand on it and think of where you want to go in detail - think of all the surroundings about your desired location. Your gem and the warp pad will then resonate with each other, and the pad will then send you there"

"Sounds easy enough. I think I can handle that"

"Good. Now - I'm gonna go ahead back home first so that way you can get used to using the warp pad by yourself. Besides - I can't keep holding your hand forever"

As Garnet hopped back on the warp pad, she was engulfed in a blue pillar of light, then disappeared in an instant. Peridot then approached Onniks and offered some advice of her own.

"Listen - there's something important I gotta mention before you come back"

"I'm listening"

"The warp pad, it... it emits radiation when you use it"

"What? What're you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the warp pad - there's a miniature nuclear device inside the warp pad itself that acts like a propulsion system which is what actually sends the Gem off - the gemstone and warp pad resonation just tells the pad where to go, not how. Since you're a hybrid, the radiation can still affect you, but I think you should wait a while until it clears from your body"

"What? You can't be serious about all this"

"Of course I am" Peridot answered as she encroached closer to him. "Why else do you think Steven's so short for his age?"

Onniks seemed slightly skeptical about Peridot's words.

"Suppose you're right about all this - why wouldn't the girls mention it before?"

"That part I'm actually not sure of. Could be that since they're - according to Homeworld logic - 'low-class gems', they might not know the mechanics of the warp pad, just that all they needed to know was how to use it"

"Not even Pearl would know how this thing works?"

"I doubt it. There were several pads I had to repair myself with my robonoids that use nanotechnology"

"So then, tell me - what should I do then? I sure don't feel like walking around like a radioactive conduit or something"

Peridot then thought for a moment to figure out a solution, then was able to come up with an answer.

"In my opinion, I think you should wait here overnight"

"What? You gotta be kidding..."

"I don't kid about something this serious. Truth be told, I haven't been to this location, so I don't know how far we are from the Temple - which means I don't know how much radiation you absorbed in your body. I think waiting here overnight will be enough time for the radiation in your body to dissipate"

"Guess I have no choice, huh?" Onniks replied. "Alright - I'll wait here, then. Could you do me a favor and let everyone know I won't be back until tomorrow for this reason, then?"

"No problem" Peridot answered as she stepped on the pad "Take care of yourself, alright?"

Peridot then vanished in a blue pillar of light just as Garnet did soon after she gave Onniks her last piece of advice.

"Man, this is gonna suck ass, having to stay here that long with nothing to do" Onniks grumbled. "Welp... guess I could do some solo training for the time being - I have been rather lazy lately"

He removed his shoes and socks, then unzips the lower half of his pant legs and takes them off, tossing everything next to the warp pad. He then looked around his immediate field of vision for anything he could use as targets. The first thing he spotted were the palm trees next to the warp pad.

"Those'll do juuust fine" he thought to himself as he walked over to one of the trees. He gave it a couple pats on the trunk to check its sturdiness. "Seems solid enough. Alright - time to get to work"

With his body lined up with the tree in a side stepping position, he lifted his right foot up and stomped on the tree with his heel. The leaves from the tree rustled from the vibrations of the impact. Not putting his foot down, he brung it behind his left leg, then proceeded to stomp on the tree once again, repeating the process several times and changing the angle of the kick each time.

After several minutes, he switched feet and continued to practice on the tree as before, giving his left foot some equal training.

However, after the sidekick training had finished, his heels had started throbbing a little.

"Damn, I have been too relaxed in my training" he thought to himself.

As he stepped off the hard ground and onto the sand, he felt the heat from it slightly soothe the pain in his feet.

"This is more comforting than I thought. Gotta do this more often. Well - after training, anyways"

As he sat down, he let the warmth of the sand on his feet slowly forget about his training. As the sun settled beyond the vast ocean on his left, the sky turned a reddish-orange, while large clouds in the sky became a dark purple. Several stars made their presence known as they emitted a feint twinkle in a few areas in the sky that the clouds didn't cover. One final relaxing breeze across the beach overcame Onniks' desire to train, forcing him to take the rest of the day off.

"This scenery is extraordinary" Onniks spoke to himself out loud. "Wish Pearl was here to see this"

A few seconds of silence pass by, until it was unexpectedly broken.

"...But I AM here..." an unrecognizable voice spoke from behind him.

"Huh?"

As Onniks looked back, he saw and unfamiliar female standing several feet away, staring at him as if she were to burst out in tears in any moment.

She was slightly smaller than Pearl, with a slender build and bearing a unique monochromatic feature: she had a smoke-gray skin tone, with short black hair parted down the center, a black leotard with a thin see-thru fabric outlining her torso, and a pair of black sandals. However, what was out-of-place about her attire was a black eyepatch covering her left eye.

"Where've you been this whole time? Do you know how long I've been waiting for you here?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else" Onniks replied.

"No, it's you, My Diamond, I can tell. You have the same aura as she does, but you appear different - did you happen to reform, or...?"

"Huh? Same aura as she does?" Onniks thought to himself.

Onniks hesitated to answer her. He turned his attention away from her, looked back into the ocean's horizon and patted an area of sand on his right side.

"Please - have a seat and relax" he requested. "There's some things that definitely need clearing up"

The young girl reluctantly accepted his offer and timidly approached his side and sat about an arm's reach away.

"Now - first thing's first" Onniks continued. "I'm not this... Diamond... or master or whoever you think I am"

"But you have to be! You have the sa-"

"Same aura, I know. I think I can explain that, but I have a question first"

"What is it?"

"Your 'Diamond' - what's her name?"

"It's Jette, why?"

The girl's answer struck a thought into Onniks mind.

"Jette' you say? Spelled 'J-E-T-T-E'?"

The girl was surprised at Onniks' comment.

"Yes, that's right. How'd you know?"

"It might be difficult to believe but... I'm her son"

"You're right, I don't believe it. Surely you have proof of this?"

Onniks then lifted up his shirt, exposing the black octagonal-shaped gemstone embedded at the center of his chest.

"I believe this is the gemstone you were sensing the aura from?"

The girl then leaned over to inspect Onniks' gem a bit closer, eyeing it closely.

"That... that's her gemstone, alright. The aura coming from it is more feint than I had originally thought, but it's definitely hers"

Slightly defeated, the girl leaned back up and stared at the dusk sky once again.

"I'm... sorry that I got you mixed up in this" she apologized. "I was just really hoping that... you know... you were 'her"

"Don't worry about it - I completely understand the situation"

Another brief pause filled the air once again.

"Listen - can... can I make a suggestion ?" Onniks asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"...Why don't you come back home with me? I mean - it's clear that we're both on the same mission to find the same Gem, and with me being her son, it's obvious that she still has to be close by, which'll help narrow down our search"

"If it gets me off this blasted island - sure. But what's the two of us gonna be able to do?"

"Actually, there won't be just two of us. There's a group of Gems at home that I've been staying with. They're really nice, but... odd, in their own unique way - I'm sure they'll help out as well"

"Alright - then it's settled. I'll come with you. However, since you made a request, I'd like to make one as well"

"Alright, then - let's hear it"

"Well, uh..." she replied with hesitation "Since you're my Diamond's son, will... you let me serve you? Even if temporary?"

"*sigh*... I don't know. I don't like the thought of having some sort of slave follow me around"

"Please?" she begged. "It'll bring me some peace of mind knowing that I can make myself useful once again"

Onniks leaned back on his hands in the sand and contemplated her request for a couple minutes, then came up with a solution.

"I've thought about it, and I'll agree to your request on two conditions" Onniks spoke.

"Which are?"

"One: The Gems that we'll soon meet I've no doubt they'll go out of their way to help us out, so I would appreciate it that if they ask you for an important task, then you should complete it. However, anything menial or redundant can be ignored"

"Help those that help you - fair enough. And two?"

"Two: Once we find my mother, AKA 'Your Diamond', I will relinquish my command and return her back to you"

"Another reasonable condition. Alright - I agree to your request"

"Good - then it's settled"

After a momentary pause, the girl decided to change the subject.

"So... what are you doing here, exactly?"

"Whaddaya mean?"

"I mean why are you here on this island? This place isn't exactly the best vacation spot ever"

"Oh - gem training"

"Gem... training?"

"Yeah. Never really had to rely on my gem's capabilities until recently, so now I'm testing out what I can do with it while there's time off. Anyways, what I was supposed to be doing was learning how to use the warp pad by myself"

"Warp pads are fairly simple to use - any reason you haven't tried to go back yet?"

"One of the Gems that came with us mentioned that there's a small nuclear device that's supposed to help with sending everyone to their destination, and said that I should wait here overnight to let my body clean itself of any radiation I could've came in contact with"

"What? I've never heard of any of that before"

"She also mentioned that that information wasn't made known to most Gems"

"And you believe her?"

"Hard telling. While she has been known to prank me in the past, she has also helped us out. Just recently, she helped cure one of our friends from a new form of corruption"

"Oh, my... I see. That was definitely nice of her"

"And what about you? If you know how to use warp pads, why haven't you left yet?"

"As you probably know, one can only travel to a warp pad that they have used before. The problem is that all the ones I have used are either malfunctioning or have been destroyed - most likely due to the Great Gem Rebellion, which I'll explain later. Anyways, My Diamond and I escaped the fighting temporarily in a spaceship that sank in the ocean and got stranded on this island. She hopped on the warp pad and said she'd be back for me, but she never returned.I had thought something had happened to her all this time - that is, until you showed up"

"That's some scary stuff. I'm sorry you had to go through with all that"

"Thanks, but it's alright. We volunteered ourselves to fight for a more peaceful universe, and we'd do it again"

"Heh. You'd definitely fit in back home with that attitude"

"Thanks. Oh - by the way, I forgot to mention - I'm Black Pearl"

"Onniks, at your service" he replied with a simple nod and continued to stare in the night sky.

As he gazed at the sky, the large clouds that were previously blocking his view had disappeared, and revealed two medium-sized moons, side-by-side with the one on the right slightly higher than the left. As the sun finally settled beyond the horizon, the light rflected off the two moons, giving off a sparkling rainbow effect off their surfaces, with the left one displaying a red-orange-yellow pattern, while the second moon continued the effect from green-blue-purple.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Black Pearl commented. "Happens every night"

"Yeah, it's beautiful. Never seen anything like it.

...

Wait... I've NEVER seen anything like it - question: When did Earth get a second moon and start looking like a rainbow?"

"...What's an 'Earth'?"

"The...name of the planet we're on?"

"This planet's name is Rottix, not Earth. You must be farther from home than you realized"

"Dammit - she told me she'd take me close by for training, not out of the Solar System"

"Well, it could be close - on a... universal scale, anyways"

"Very funny"

"Sorry. I'm not that good at joking around with others"

"*sigh* It's alright - really... So - you know anything about those moons? That effect doesn't look natural"

"Yes - I know a couple things about them.

First, the 'Rottixians', as you'd probably call the locals of this planet, couldn't think of any proper names for them, but wanted to give them something that felt more nature-based, so they decided on Low Tide and High Tide, for obvious reasons.

Second, just as you mentioned - the rainbow effect that the moons give off isn't natural. Now - I haven't seen what happened myself, but I have heard the stories, and I doubt the Rottixians would lie about it.

Anyways, about a dozen millennia ago, there was this alien race that threatened the lives on this planet, and that they developed a large weapon that was able to take light matter and condense it into a physical destructive beam.

They originally made their presence known with a direct attack on one of Rottix's largest cities - Donirra - a trading hub that was built on the corners of three bordering countries.

The aftermath of the attack left everyone outside the blast radius in horror. Men, women, children, elderly... Not one person of Donirra survived, nor one building remain stood - everything was annihilated indiscriminately.

Well, at that time, there was this massive, beautiful goddess that lived on Rottix who was made of solid diamond - the 'Great Diamond', she was better known as.

Once she learned that the alien's weapon was utilizing condensed light, she knew that since light itself can be diffracted, so she quickly devised a plan to create a counter weapon that would separate the light beam into several wavelengths, thus rendering the attack ineffective.

The name of this weapon was called the 'Diamond Dust Canon'.

The Great Diamond explained that the only chance of survival at this point was to use her physical self as ammunition for the canon.

Obviously, the Rottixians were completely against the idea of the Great Diamond sacrificing herself, but as time approached closer towards another enemy attack - complaining about the results weren't an option.

On a night much like tonight, the enemy decided to try to launch a preemptive strike, however the Great Diamond had already anticipated the enemy's next attack based on the previous one, and waited for the enemy to strike its target.

As the alien ship made its appearance next to the twin moons, the Great Diamond had already prepared the canon to launch its shell - herself - at the target.

A she climbed in the canon and slid down the chamber, she reformed her body into an aerodynamic projectile. Meanwhile, a team of Rottixians assigned to the calibration of the canon had programmed the alien ship's coordinates into the computer.

The commander of the team reluctantly, but with good reason, gave the order to launch the Great Diamond Projectile as the enemy was beginning to charge its light beam weapon.

As the enemy launched the beam, the Great Diamond Projectile soared through the night sky and began to crack, then shortly after - shattered into a cloud of millions of diamond shards, appearing as a gust of snow blowing through a cold breeze. A multitude of those shards, however, unexpectedly collected on the surfaces of the twin moons.

The enemy then launched its attack and - just as the Great Diamond predicted - failed to penentrate the wall of diamond dust she created, and diffracted into a rainbow of light that shone down onto the surface of Rottix.

But it didn't end there. Even though the enemy attack was thwarted, the shards continued to travel through the sky at the enemy ship, maintaining their velocity and penetrating the ship's hull, destroying the ship in the process"

Black Pearl's story had left Onniks completely astonished - nearly speechless as well.

"...Ayeayeaye, that... that that's one of the most noblest things I've heard anyone ever do..."

"I know - it's amazing, isn't it? She's been such a great inspiration to everyone's that ever wanted to achieve something greater than themselves for the betterment of everyone else"

"Tell me about it - you gotta be something special to want to do something like she did without asking for anything in return... which reminds me: was it ever known why those aliens attacked Rottix?"

"No one still knows. It's been widely speculated that they saw Rottix as an inferior species, and wanted to show off their dominance"

"But in the end, all they got was a taste of their own medicine"

"Indeed they did. Actually, now that I think about it - it's also been told that the Great Diamond's sacrifice is what led to the creation of the Diamond Authority, which was originally meant to carry on the standards that the Great Diamond once upheld, but..."

"...'But'? Did something happen?"

"...From what My Diamond told me, the Diamond Authority became politically corrupt and lost sight of what they once stood for. The thirst for power ultimately led them to become the very enemy the Great Diamond once defeated"

"'Diamond Authority'? Any idea how many of these 'Diamonds' were involved?"

"I only know of four of them. Whether or not there's more, I have no idea, but the one's I'm familiar with are: Navy Diamond, Green Diamond, Lemon Diamond, and..."

"...Hm? Something wrong?"

"...Black Diamond - MY Diamond"

"What!? You mean my mother was part of them as well?"

"Yes, but please don't misunderstand - she was never part of their corruption in the first place. In fact, she knew what they were planning even before they formed the Diamond Authority; she joined their ranks and slowly gained their trust over the many millennia, only to one day overthrow their tyranny from the inside"

"Oh, I see now... *yaaawn* ...Glad I was wrong about that"

Hearing Onniks' yawn had reminded Black Pearl that while he was half Gem, he still needed some rest.

"I'm sorry for keeping you up so late" she apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it - I really loved that story"

"Thanks - I appreciate it. You know, if you loved the moons, you should wait for tomorrow - I think you'll enjoy it"

"Is that so? I guess I'll go ahead and get some rest then - don't wanna miss it"

"Alright - I'll wake you up when it's here if you're not up in time"

"Awesome - thanks a bunch!"

"No problem. Good night"

"Good night to you, too"


	29. Another Short History Lesson

Scenes of Black Pearl's story flashed through Onniks' mind as he slept the rest of the night away - scenes of what he could only imagine the events of that took place then: what kind of alien species would just attack a non-hostile planet for no reason; what a cloud of diamond shards looked like billowing through space; the diffraction of light from a weapon down to its basic colors; and what kind of splendorous beauty an immense-sized diamond goddess would behold.

Unfortunately, all of his thoughts and wonders had been interrupted by an eager Black Pearl nudging his shoulder, attempting to wake him up.

"Hey, Onniks! Time to get up!" Black Pearl called out as she continued to wake Onniks.

"...Huh? Wha...?" Onniks groggily responded with his face buried in his right arm that he was using for support as he slept.

"C'mon - get up, or you're gonna miss it!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah - that's right. I'm up, I'm up"

As he got up and dusted the sand off his arm, the first thing he saw was Black Pearl, sitting in a grassy patch next to the sand with her knees pulled up against her chest, and donning an eager smile.

"So - what was it you wanted to show me?" he asked.

"That" she simply replied as she pointed into the sky.

As he looked in the direction that she guided him, what he saw at that moment made him stand up and stare in complete awe, his thoughts then not forming the words he witnessed: it was a large celestial object taking up most of the sky - large enough to be considered another planet. On its surface - as clear as day - a blue symbol could be seen, changing its design at periodic intervals, yet maintaining its overall pattern.

Underneath the blue symbol, a large light blue area with streaks of white marks that seemed to be travelling on both a vertical and horizontal axis appeared to be the secondary focal point of the object, along with a brownish-green border to the right of the light blue area, followed by a dark blue area that appeared to have a rippling effect.

"...What is..." Onniks tried to comment, but was too awestruck to reply. "...Is... that another planet?"

"Correct" Black Pearl answered as she got up and stood next to Onniks. "That, my friend, would be Eredis - Rottix's twin sister"

"No one's worried that these planets'll crash into each other or something?"

"Not one bit. Since both planets were not only formed at the same time, they also have the same mass, which means that they also revolve around the sun the same rate, maintaining the same distance from each other every revolutionary cycle"

"That makes sense. So does that mean that Rottix has the same blue symbol as Eredis does?"

"Actually, no - that's one of the few things that make Rottix and Eredis different. What happened was that since the first attack that was caused by the aliens with their beam weapon, some of the denizens of Rottix fled the planed out of fear for the safety of not only their lives, but the safety of Rottix as well.

But since the Great Diamond was able to stop the alien assault, the fear of Eredis being attacked as well had been alleviated - but that didn't stop them from looking for ways to defend themselves.

Once Eredis had been colonized, representatives from both planets got together and held a meeting here on Rottix to discuss future plans for defending Eredis should another incident occur. It was not only agreed, but also preferred by both parties that Eredis take any means necessary to defend themselves from any future threats, whether they be magical or technological.

That blue rune that you see that's constantly changing? It's a protection rune created using a mix of both technology and magic that combines both sources to form an invisible barrier around the planet. The reason the rune keeps changing is because they predicted that the enemy can change their tactics as well"

"I gotta admit - that's smart thinking using a barrier for protection, but how does the barrier differentiate friend from foe?"

"That's because every ship that passes between Rottix and Eredis is equipped with a sensor that emits a certain frequency recognized by the tower that manages the barrier, so when the ship approaches the barrier, it produces a counter pulse and allows the ship to pass"

"You know, I'm thoroughly impressed that you know so much about this place - you must travel a lot to hear all of this information"

"Actually..." Black Pearl responded nervously "I've never even left this island. This island here is one of several that connect to the main island, which is a very popular place for Rottixians to vacation, which means that lots of locals stop here to visit. Everything I know is through the stories I've overheard told by the tour guides"

"You've... never left? Is that because you've been waiting for my mother to return?"

"Yes, that would be correct"

"I see. I guess you're pretty popular with the tourists here if you never leave, huh?"

"Actually, uh... I've never made myself known to the public"

"What? Why not?"

"Because I look so much different that everyone on this planet - I don't know how they'd react, especially after since they've dealt with alien species before, and look how that turned out. So, I decided to take it upon myself to take shelter in a nearby cave where I can easily conceal myself in the darkness"

"I... guess I can see your point.

...

...*sigh* Anyways, whenever you're ready, let's get outta here"

"I've been ready ever since I got here. Don't get me wrong - it's a very nice place, but there's obviously nothing for me here"

As the two approached the warp pad, Onniks recovered his belongings he placed beside it and hopped on the platform, where Black Pearl waited.

"Now - just a fair warning" Onniks informed "This is my first attempt at this, so if we happen to switch body parts or something, please don't take it personal"

"I don't think there's anything to worry about" Black Pearl reminded "A Gem's body is holographic, after all"

"Just making sure, is all. Anyways - here we go"

Onniks closed his eyes, and - following Garnet's instructions - kept his focus on the location he wanted to go - back to the Temple.Almost instantly, he felt a tiny vibration ring in his gem, followed by his body undergoing the feeling of levitation as he was lifted up from the platform and swallowed by the blue light from the pad.

After a few moments of traveling through a blue tunnel, Onniks' feet finally touched down on a hard surface, then regaining his vision after the light had disappeared - he and Black Pearl had safely made it to the end of the teleportation sequence and arrived at the Temple as Onniks had wanted, where he noticed all the Gems resting up once again in the living room, save for Pearl.

"'Bout time you made it back" Garnet spoke. As she looked next to Onniks, she saw Black Pearl standing timidly beside him."Seems you also brought a guest as well. Care to introduce her?"

"I will, but I want to wait for Pearl to arrive so I could introduce everyone all at once"

"Fair enough. You sure took your sweet time getting here - was your 'guest' here the reason?"

"Nope - gonna hafta blame Peridot for that one"

Peridot, upon hearing her name called out, tried to wedge herself in the couch, attempting to use Garnet and Amethyst as camouflage.

."In what way is this Peridot's fault?" Garnet inquired.

"She's the one that told me to wait back there overnight to let my body clean itself of radiation that the warp pad utilizes"

Garnet diverted her attention to Peridot, staring at her sternly as she awaited an answer from her, but didn't receive one. Garnet then looked back to Onniks and continued her conversation.

"What do you mean 'radiation'?"

"Peridot said that there's a small nuclear device in the warp pad that is the reason Gems are pushed off the pad and sent to their destination"

Four pairs of eyes - Garnet, Amethyst, Lapis, and Steven - slowly shifted towards Peridot and glared at her in contempt, all awaiting some form of response from Peridot.

"Eeeeheheheh...What?" Peridot chuckled with a squeaky tone. "It's not like I meant any harm over it - just a harmless prank, is all it was!" she continued her defense, but no one was buying it - they continued to stare at her coldly.

Seeing Peridot's nervous reaction signaled to Onniks that she was definitely guilty, so he decided to launch a small verbal counter attack as punishment.

"She also said that the overexposure to radiation is the reason why Steven is so small" Onniks stated, dishing out verbal jabs towards Peridot.

"You did what!? Amethyst snarled at Peridot, who then unwedged herself from out of the couch.

"No, I said that he was short, not small" Peridot corrected

"So, you admit to it?" Garnet interrogated.

"Well - yeah. I'm not gonna just sit here and lie about it, because that would be wrong"

Garnet then - as calmly as normal - stood up from the couch and approached Peridot, leaning over her with not even three inches of space between them.

"You have until the count to four to get outta my sight, and stay out of it - I don't want to see your face until dusk. Do I make myself clear?"

"Aw, what? You can't be serious, Garnet! It was-"

"One"

"C'mon, it was just a harmless joke! You gotta-"

"Two"

"Alright, alright! I'm going - sheesh!"

In a fit of frustration, Peridot stomped out of the house and down the steps, making herself as inconspicuous as possible for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile, Garnet returned back to her spot on the couch and placed her left hand on the side of her face, waiting for her irritability to pass.

"By the way - Onniks" Garnet spoke, trying to take her mind off Peridot "There's something kinda important I need to inform you on"

"What's up?"

"When you mentioned that you were gone 'overnight' - it was a bit longer than you realize"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure by now you know that you were on a different planet, correct?"

"That's right. Oh, by the way - next time warn me the next time you say 'someplace nearby' actually means 'the next constellation over', alright?"

"Sure, no problem. But back to my point - you think you were gone merely overnight, when in fact its been three days on Earth"

"Thr-wait, WHAT? Three? It's been three days?" Onniks frantically blurted "I'm dead - I'm so dead. Pearl's gonna kill me - you know that, right?"

Lightly sounding footsteps were then heard coming from around the warp pad. It was Pearl, coming out of the door behind the warp pad with her attention deeply focused on Onniks' tablet she held in both hands.

"Now, you know I wouldn't do that" she replied, eyes still glued to the tablet screen, not paying any mind to her surroundings. "To be honest, I started worrying that something had happened while you were away that you couldn't return - like the warp pad breaking or some other mishap, so I started looking for an altern-"

Pearl's reply was cut off immediately as she peeled her eyes from the screen and noticed Black Pearl standing by Onniks shyly.

"Oh! A guest! I'm sorry - I didn't see you standing there" Pearl apologized. "Onniks, aren't you going to introduce her?"

"Yeah - I was waiting for you, though, so I could tell everyone all at once"

"Okay - you do have a point. Now, if you please..."

Onniks took a step back from Black Pearl and placed a hand on her shoulder, unintentionally drawing attention to her.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce to you - Black Pearl, my mother's closest assistant"


	30. Getting Settled In

Pearl casually approached the guest, carefully analyzing her from head to toe.

"Hmm...'Black' Pearl, you say?" Pearl asked her.

"That's correct"

Pearl then leaned upright, placing her chin on her right fist as she contemplated the situation.

"Quite a rare one you are... Normally, Pearls are attributed to the Diamond they're associated with, which would mean that yours would be... Black Diamond?"

"That is also correct"

Pearl walked to the couch and sat down in Peridot's previous spot, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest as she continued to concentrate on solving this dilemma.

"Something definitely isn't adding up" Pearl spoke. "Not once have I ever heard of this 'Black Diamond"

"This is news to me as well" Garnet added.

"I swear - I'm not making this up! I-"Black Pearl tried to speak, but was cut short by Pearl.

"Please - calm down. No one's accusing you of anything, its just that we weren't expecting to hear anything like this"

"But... how can you not? Black Diamond - MY Diamond - has been part of the Diamond Authority since the beginning"

"Wait... Black Diamond? In the Diamond Authority?" Garnet asked.

"That's right" Black Pearl answered.

Pearl then leaned back on the couch, with her right leg crossed over the other and the index finger of her right hand placed over her lips as she further analyzed Black Pearl's situation.

"I just can't figure it out" Pearl spoke softly to herself as she continued to contemplate Black Pearl's words. "The only thing I can think of is that there's multiple sets of Diamond Authorities, but it wouldn't explain why there'd be so many"

While Pearl continued to ponder about the conflicting information presented by Black Pearl, Onniks quietly approached Garnet with a question of a slightly related topic.

"Yo, Garnet - quick question for ya. if I may" Onniks whispered to her, trying not to disturb Pearl's train of thought.

"Sure - what's up?"

"By any chance have you happened to see a brown folder with my birth certificate in it? The folder should be inside a white envelope"

"Yes, I have - Pearl placed it in the closet under the staircase. Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all - just need to confirm something with Black Pearl. Thanks"

As Garnet nodded in confirmation, Onniks quietly took his leave and recovered the envelope, then returned back to Black Pearl, who was still standing by in silence.

"Is... something wrong?" she asked.

"Of course not. I just wanted to see if you can verify something for me"

"Depends. What needs verified?"

"Just a picture of someone - hopefully you can recognize them"

"Alright, let's take a look"

Onniks pulled out the folder, flipped to the picture of Jette laying in bed cradling the baby Onniks, and shown it to Black Pearl.

"That... that's her. That's My Diamond" she replied as her eyes widened, skimming the picture with her fingertips. "She hasn't changed a bit since the last time I saw her"

As she continued to observe the picture, she noticed the newborn baby sleeping in Jette's arms. On the child, a tiny, dark, familiar 8-sided spot was seen on his chest.

"Wait... That stone..." Black Pearl spoke softly to herself.

As she quickly glanced at Onniks, she remembered that he had a gemstone similar to the one the baby had. She then immediately lifted up his shirt and spotted the stone on his chest, then proceeded to glance back and forth between him and the picture repeatedly.

"...May I... help you?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh - no thanks" she answered, continuing to glance at both him and the picture.

Onniks then secretly stared away from Black Pearl with a hint of contempt.

"Alright, that'll be enough" he spoke as he gently batted her hand down, readjusting his shirt along the way.

"Sorry about that" she apologized "I'm just still surprised about all this"

Black Pearl then glanced at the picture one last time.

"There's no doubt about it - you really are her son..."

As Black Pearl removed her fingers from the picture, Onniks folded the folder back up and placed it inside the envelope.

"Well, that certainly connects a few pieces together" spoke Onniks.

"Yes, but there's still more pieces missing" Garnet added "Like where Black Diamond is hiding"

"Not to mention the extra Diamonds we're unfamiliar with in the Diamond Authority" Pearl added.

"It appears that our top priority now is to locate Black Diamond" Garnet replied.

"But... how, exactly?" Amethyst asked. "I mean - we all know that Diamonds are like... freakishly huge and all, but trying to go out and looking for one ourselves would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack"

Everyone in the room stood by in silence trying to think of a plan to find Black Diamond, when after a couple moments, Steven came up with an idea of his own.

"...Maybe... we won't hafta find one" he spoke. "What if we let her find us?"

"What'chu talkin' 'bout, Steven?" Onniks asked, mimicking a famous quote from a retro television sitcom.

"What I mean is... Has anyone ever noticed that trouble always seems to find us here, at the Temple? So I figured that If we just wait a while, then something is bound to show up here"

"While you do bring up a good point, Steven" Pearl replied "It would, however, take something quite catastrophic to lure out something as powerful as a Diamond"

"Yeah - not to mention that risking the structural integrity of the Temple would definitely fall under the list of 'Bad Things We Don't Want to Happen" Onniks chimed.

"I, for one, agree with Steven - to a point" Garnet replied. "Right now, we really don't have any clue as to where to find a Diamond, so we should just stand by until then. Of course, that also means that if someone or something threatening should happen to show up, we need to focus on taking the fight away from both the Temple and the town"

"Now that that's out of the way" Pearl spoke as she stood up and approached Black Pearl "We just need to figure out what to do with you now"

"I haven't been too much trouble already, have I? I can leave if-"

"What? No, nononono!" Pearl spoke with a chuckle in her comment "You haven't been any trouble at all! It's just that there's a couple things we need to take care of"

"What would those be?"

"Well, first there's the small matter of identification"

"...I..denti...what?"

"Identification - a method of telling someone apart from another. I was wondering if you'd be willing to go by an alternate name of your choice, since 'Black Pearl' would be constantly inconvenient to say, and just 'Pearl' would be confusing since there'd be two of us"

Black Pearl then turned her attention to Onniks, seeking a second opinion from her proclaimed master.

"...What... should I do?" she asked him.

"Well.. While I do agree with Pearl that an alternate name would be more convenient" he responded "Ultimately, you do have the right to decide on this for yourself"

"And nobody will be mad?"

"Of course not. This is nothing more than a suggestion - you don't have to go through with this if you don't want to"

Black Pearl then placed her hands in front of herself and stared at the floor for a moment, coming up with a decision shortly after.

"Well... I do like the dark... Is... there any descriptive words here to describe it?"

"...Well, how about 'Shade'?" Onniks suggested.

"Shade'? I... kinda like it, actually. Alright - I, for the time being, shall be called 'Shade'. It'll take some time getting used to it, but it should make things easier for everyone in the long run"

"Very well" Pearl spoke. "Now that that's been settled, there's one other matter that needs to be dealt with"

"What would that be?" Black Pearl - now referring to herself for the time being as 'Shade' - asked.

"Living arrangements. You'll need your own room - a place to go to when you want to have some privacy now and then"

"Well... as I mentioned earlier, I like dark places. Is there like a cave or something close by?"

"...You could always use the inside of Onniks' head - there's plenty of room in there" the familiar voice of Peridot answered from outside the house.

*tap tap tap... tap tap tap... tap tap tap*

As everyone focused their attention towards the ominous sound, that's when they noticed Garnet, thumping her fingertips on the arm of the couch in irritation.

"Excuse me for one second" Garnet spoke as she got up from her seat and walked outside.

"OH, uhh... Hey, Garnet! What's up?" Peridot asked, ignoring the fact that she wasn't supposed to be in the area.

"Wha-hey! What're you doing? Put me down!

*crick*

OW!

*crunch*

That's not supposed to bend that way!

*crack*"

Through the window, everyone in the house saw Garnet lean backwards a little, while a curled up Peridot sat in her palm.

"...Wuddre yoo duing?" Peridot asked in a muffled tone.

"HUUAH!"

*.....sspsh*

Garnet then casually walked back inside and sat back down in her previous spot on the couch.

"Please, continue" she spoke in a calm manner.

Pearl - dumbfounded by Garnet's random actions - conveniently remembered that there was a cave for Shade nearby, but was currently being occupied.

"...Aaaanyways" Pearl spoke to Shade, eagerly changing the subject from Garnet's reaction "There is a ...cave... nearby here, however it is currently being occupied by Onniks, so it is up to him to decide what to do with it"

"Actually...I don't mind at all if she has it" Onniks responded as he looked over at Pearl. "Granted - I really appreciate the work that you put into it and I love you to death for it - but there's really not that many other options left. Besides - I still have the 'back-up room' I can use"

"Back-up room... Back-up room... I'm sorry - remind me again?"

"You know? The one that's all green and neon-y like that Homeworld place and you hacksawed the part of the bed off? That room?"

"*gasp* Oooh, that's riiiight.."

"You have access to a bedroom designed like a Homeworld one?" Shade asked Onniks. "How'd you get one of those?"

"Honestly not sure" Onniks answered. "I wanna say that I inherited it somehow"

"Is it okay if I took a peek inside?"

"Sure. I gotta go in there myself anyways - gimme one second"

Onniks carefully held onto the envelope as he drew the red outlines of the door with his fingers. The door then split itself into two halves and slid open horizontally.

"Welcome to Chateau Onniks" he spoke as he greeted Shade inside, with Pearl following behind.

Shade stood several feet past the entrance of the room, staring speechlessly at the architecture of the room.

"So you're telling me" Shade spoke "that you just inherited all of this?"

"That's what it sure feels like"

"But... how did you find out about this?"

"Long story short - by mere accident when I was a kid"

Shade then stepped further into the room, still admiring the Homeworld furniture.

"I bet you have a lot of neat stuff here"

"Actually, I'm honestly not sure what's here"

"What? How can you not know?"

"All these dressers and such that you see here? I've never been able to open them"

Skeptical of Onniks' comment, Shade approached one of the dressers and began pulling on the handle as had as she possible could, however the drawer wouldn't budge one bit. She then gave one last attempt at pulling the drawer open, only to have her hands slip off the handle, falling on the floor as she stumbled over herself.

"It's as if someone magically sealed these thing shut" Shade spoke as she scanned the dresser from bottom to top.

As she looked at the top of the dresser, that's when she noticed the glass cylinder with the decorated sword inside it.

"No way..." Shade replied, standing back up on her feet, staring in awe at the container.

"What? Something wrong?" Onniks asked.

"...You... have Schism?"

"Schism?" Pearl asked. "As in 'a division between opposed parties caused by differences in opinions'?"

"That's right" Shade confirmed. "Black Diamond wielded that same sword when her and I fought during the Rebellion"

"That explains the name of the weapon - there definitely were differences in opinions then, especially when the end result were poofed and shattered Gems" Pearl spoke "but now this brings up another question: That not only was Black Diamond part of the Diamond Authority, but also led the Rebellion as well?"

"That's correct"

"*sigh*... So many questions, and not enough answers. I hope we find her soon, because there's a ton of things she needs to explain"

"I definitely agree - it seems we've all been led into the dark about everything"

Changing the subject, Shade addressed Onniks about the sword once again.

"But that sword - how'd you come into possession of it?"

As Onniks approached her, he set the envelope on one of the corners of the replicated holjector stand.

"My aunt told me that my mother gave it to her to pass onto me when I got older as a keepsake"

Shade looked at him confusingly, not understanding what he said.

"...What's an 'aunt'?"

"*sigh* That's right, not well-versed in Earth culture - an 'aunt' is a female sibling of either one of your parents"

"...What's a 'sibling'?"

"...Tell you what... We'll go over all this later - for now, let's get you acquainted to your new room" Onniks replied as he guided Shade out of the room with a gentle nudge on her upper back.

After Onniks had closed the door behind him after Pearl and Shade had exited the room, Shade asked Onniks' about his reason for being in the room.

"Wait... wasn't there something that you said you needed to do in there?"

"Already took care of it"

As Shade looked closer at him, she noticed that he no longer had the envelope he had before he went in the room.

"So... you're reason to go in there was to drop that picture off in there?"

"That's right"

"Why not just leave it out here? It'd be easier to find again later. Or do you not trust anyone here with it?"

"Of course I trust everyone here" he answered. "The problem is that I don't trust myself - I have a habit of misplacing things. So as long as it's in the room we were just in, I'll know where it is at all times. Anyways, c'mon - time to show you your room"

Shade followed Onniks and Pearl out of the house and onto the patio, where she was greeted by the warmth of the midday sun, followed by a gust of a cool ocean breeze.

"Just like Rottix" Shade spoke as they continued down the stairs of the patio.

"I'm sorry - Rottix?" Pearl asked.

"It's the name of the planet I stayed on just before I came here"

"I see. There must've been a lot of sights to see over there"

"Actually, I'm honestly not sure"

"Huh? Why's that?"

"I spent my entire time there secluding myself in a cave on a small island - kinda difficult to let your presence be known when you look completely different from the locals"

"I'm... sorry to hear that. Well, the good news is that in this area, you don't have to worry about hiding yourself - a majority of the citizens here are content with Gems roaming around freely, however there are a few that are skeptical of our intentions"

Along the way to the cave, the group noticed Peridot laying on the beach, completely soaked with the tide rolling on her. As they hovered over her, Onniks began   
o lightly chuckle.

"*sigh*.... What, Onniks?" a drenched and irritated Peridot asked.

"*pffft* Seems to me like you're all...."

"Don't you dare say it..."

"...Washed up!"

"I hate you"

As Onniks finished his comment, the three then left Peridot to wallow in her shame in privacy and arrived at the entrance of the cave.

"Well? Waddaya think?" Onniks asked Shade.

"It's so... pink, and... blue, and... how do I get in?"

"It's simple - just approach the pink shape"

Shade nervously approached the entrance, uncertain of what would happen. As she stepped close enough, the ping symbol split in half, and the two sides slid open, revealing the cave inside.

"These doors open by themselves?" Shade asked. "What magic did you use to create this?"

"No magic at all, actually" Pearl answered. "See that shiny black area above the door?" Pearl pointed out, to which Shade confirmed. "It's a special sensor that when someone get close enough to it, it activates a motor on the other side - opening this 'door' by pulling on the two panels to the side"

"I... see...

...I'l be honest - I have no idea what all that meant"

"Hmhmhm - don't worry about it, I completely understand. We'll get into the details at a more convenient time - for now, let's step inside, shall we?"

As they entered the Gem-made cave, the first thing that they -especially Shade - noticed was the Homeworld-style bed that was placed on the left hand side of the room.

"This is... mine now?" Shade asked as she skimmed the bed frame with her fingers.

"Sure is" Onniks answered. "Go ahead - try it out"

Shade sat down on the bed and softly bounced on if a couple times.

"...It's so soft" Shade spoke. She then laid down on the bed and stretched out, placing her hands under her head for support. "Comfortable as well"

"Go ahead - take a nap if you want" Onniks suggested.

"*yawn* No thanks. Gems don't need to sleep..." Shade replied, closing her eyes.

"You know, I think she likes it here" Onniks spoke to Pearl in a whisper.

"....*snoore*"

Shade had fell asleep on the bed almost instantly.

"*pfft* A little too much, I'd say"


	31. Captured

It was a little into mid afternoon the following day, and Garnet was searching the fridge for something to make for Steven for lunch. Onniks was standing next to her, browsing the contents for any sign of Mountain Mist.

"There's no more left" Garnet spoke, having anticipated Onniks' scouring the fridge for his favorite drink.

"Aww, what? Onniks sad" he cried. "What're you looking for, if I may ask?"

"Trying to find something to make Steven for lunch, but I'm coming up empty handed"

"Need any help?"

"Please? I could use an extra pair of human hands"

Garnet then stepped away from the fridge, allowing Onniks to take a gander of its contents. As he looked through the freezer, he noticed that - while the insides weren't empty - nothing really seemed appetizing, save for a pack of hot dogs. He shrugged them off and took another peek through the fridge; a tube of thawed biscuit dough sat on one of the small shelves on the door. After just a quick few seconds, Onniks had thought of an idea.

"Bingo!" he replied, grabbing the dough and hot dogs and setting them on the kitchen counter.

"Hot dogs and biscuits?" Garnet pondered. "I don't understand what you're attempting with this combination"

"Not just 'hot dogs and biscuits" Onniks corrected. "One of every kid's favorite appetizers - weenie wraps!"

"I'm sorry - weenie wraps?"

"Ooooh, yeah! The snacks dreams are made of!"

"Sounds... interesting. Tell you what - tell me how to make these things, and I'll take care of the rest"

"You sure?"

"Yes. Besides, I'm more of a hands-on learner, anyways"

"Hands-on' eh? Is that Ruby's or Sapphire's trait?" Onniks asked jokingly.

"That - is something you'll never find out" Garnet replied with a smirk in return.

"Alright - I got it" Onniks replied. "Anyways, how you make these things are really simple. It seems like a lot of work, but it's easier done than said. 

First, open up a pack of hot dogs and place them in some hot water so they can plum up.

Next, open up the container of dough and flatten it out, then cut the dough into eight equal strips. 

Then take each strip and coil it around each hot dog and place them on a cookie sheet.

Finally, bake them at about three hundred fifty degrees for about fifteen minutes"

"Sounds easy enough. Alright, I can do this - I just need a few minutes"

As Garnet began preparing the meal, Onniks sat down on a chair next to the kitchen table, spectating Garnet in cooking mode. as he was watching, a feeling of deja vu quickly flashed in his mind.

"You know... I can't help but have this feeling like something's missing - as if this has happened before"

"...Give it a few seconds" Garnet commented as she clicked on a burner to the stove for the water, then proceeded to open the tube of dough.

Just as Garnet predicted, the front door slammed open, followed by a familiar voice.

"HEY,STEV! ... en?"

It was Connie, once again making a surprise visit with a backpack strapped on her shoulders. As she looked in Steven's room, she noticed that he wasn't there.

"That's what it was! Now I remember!" Onniks exclaimed, slapping his hand on the table in acknowledgement.

"Steven's outside right now" Garnet commented. "He should be back any time now for lunch"

"Oh, I see. What's on the menu?" Connie asked.

"Some new thing Onniks told me about called 'weenie wraps'. Never heard of 'em until now"

"Weenie wraps? Those things are delicious! It's good that you're making them, though"

"Thanks. Nothing like first-hand experience"

"Not only that, but also now since Onniks isn't cooking, we don't have to explain to the mayor why half the city's out of electricity"

Onniks then stared at Connie in a bit of annoyance for a second, then turned his attention back to Garnet.

"You hear that sassiness?" he spoke with a sarcastic tone "She gets it from you - you know that, right?"

"I can't help that I'm a good role model"

Not even a moment passed by in silence when a light noise was heard at the door.

*tap tap tap*

As Connie answered the door, she saw Shade standing on the porch with her hands folded in front.

"...May I please enter?" Shade politely asked.

"...Uhh... Garnet? Onniks?" Connie asked, looking in their direction.

"Yes?/'Sup?" Both Garnet and Onniks replied respectively.

"There's a girl out here dressed in all black, wanting to come in"

Onniks then stood up from his chair and approached the door, curious about who Connie was referring to. There, he saw Shade still steadfast awaiting permission for entrance.

"... You know you don't need permission to come in, right?" Onniks addressed Shade.

"N-no, I didn't - sorry. It's a force of habit"

"Well, it's a habit that needs to be broken here. Come in"

As Shade entered the house, she gazed at Connie for a couple moments, surprised that there was another human present.

"Are you a hybrid also?" Shade asked her.

"Hybrid? You mean like Onniks and Steven - half human and half Gem?"

"Correct"

"Nope - sorry! I'm one hundred percent human"

"Oh - I see. I'm sorry if I offended-"

"Don't worry about it! I completely understand why you'd think that. Truth is - Onniks and Steven are the Only hybrids on Earth"

"Onniks?" Garnet spoke, now wrapping the hot dogs with the strips of dough. "Where are your manners?"

"I ran out of those a few days ago. I was gonna go pick some up at the supermarket later today"

Onniks grinned at his own joke while Connie chuckled in the background, and Garnet slightly lowered her visor and stared at him in a serious demeanor.

"I know, I know. I'll get right on it" Onniks replied to Garnet's implied criticism. He then turned to Connie to begin introductions.

"Connie , I'd like to introduce to you - 'Shade'. She's a Gem like the others in this house, except she's a Black Pearl that came from another planet"

Connie's eyes widened upon hearing of another Gem withing the current group.

"Another Gem..." she spoke, almost completely awestruck. "And from another planet?"

"That's right" Shade confirmed. "A place called Rottix, which has a neighboring planet named Eredis"

"*gaaaasp* Tell me everything"

"Uh - sure! Let's take a seat, and I'll tell you everything I know!"

About ten minutes flew by as Connie hung on every word Shade spoke of about Rottix and Eredis, and Garnet had just puled out the cookie sheet of freshly baked wraps from the oven. As the door behind the warp pad opened, Pearl entered the living room with a small purse slung on her right shoulder and a delightful expression on her face.

"Good afternoon, everyone! I am pleased to announce that-"

Pearl's announcement was cut short as she stepped into the living room, wide-eyed as she stared at something outside.

"Onniks - duck!" she exclaimed as she hid behind the kitchen counter.

"Wait - what?"

SPLAT!

As Onniks looked over to where Pearl glanced, some soft, wet material plastered him on his face, completely covering his eyes.

"Help! I'm blind - I can't see!" he cried out, falling out of his chair and squirmed on the ground.

After a few seconds of twisting around on the floor, he felt something rub against his face, his sight coming back afterwards. Immediately, he saw Pearl standing over him, holding a dirty towel and giving him a small smirk.

"You're not blind, goofball - you literally had mud in your eyes"

"I knew that" Onniks replied, standing back up on his feet with Pearl's assistance. "I just wanted to see how you'd react if I were in real danger"

"Sure, Onniks - I'll come running full-speed if you need saving from grime!" Pearl responded as she gave a wink while holding up and patting her right bicep.

Outside the door, footsteps were heard trampling up the fronts steps - it was Steven and Peridot, with their feet covered in mud. Lapis soon fluttered downwards onto the porch and followed them in. She, however, didn't have a single spot of mud on her.

"We heard someone screaming outside - did something happen?" Steven asked.

"No - it was just Onniks being a wimp" Pearl answered.

"Gonna need some aloe vera lotion for that burn, Onniks!" Connie butted in.

"'Ey! You already had your free insult for the day - any more and I'm gonna start charging you a quarter for additional ones" Onniks spoke. "*sigh*...Anyways - who's the one that threw the mud? And more importantly - why'd it get thrown this high up?"

"That - was my fault" Steven answered, "Lapis bet us that we couldn't hit her with mud balls while she was airborne, so Peridot and I took turns trying to splatter her. As my turn came up, I threw a ball, but Lapis dodged it and it landed in the house. I - I'm sorry, Onniks, I just-"

"Hey... c'mere" Onniks interrupted.

"Please take it easy on him" Pearl spoke. "He's just a kid, after all"

"Don't worry - I got this" he replied, then looked back to Steven.

"You see this?" Onniks asked Steven, circling his own face with his finger.

"Uhh... yeah...?"

"This is the money-maker - this is a no-go. The neck below is fine " Onniks continued as he scanned his body with his hands. "My clothes can be washed, but this? -" he spoke as he waved his hands from the neck up in a fanning motion "- this is completely off-limits"

"If that's your 'money-maker', then no wonder you're always broke" Garnet jested.

"OOOOH! Onniks got served!" Steven remarked. "Served, served, served!"

"Man, what is this, 'Open Season on Onniks Day'?" Onniks replied as he sat back down on the chair he was on just a few minutes before.

"Alright, Steven - time to get cleaned up. It's lunch time" Garnet addressed.

"Okay, Garnet!" Steven replied, trotting off to the bathroom right after.

"You too, Peridot" Pearl added. "You should get cleaned up as well"

"What? Why? I don't have to eat"

"I know that. I'm gonna need you help later. Lapis' also"

"Alright, geez *mumble grumble*..."

"What is it you need our help with?" Lapis asked.

"Nothing major, really. Just need help carrying groceries home from the store" Pearl answered.

"Why not just borrow Greg's van?" Onniks inquired.

"Unfortunately, he's out of town right now picking up some equipment for the car wash again, so we're going to have to walk it this time"

"I see. If that's the case, I'll come along as well. Haven't had the time to relax until recently, so a bit of fresh air'll do some good"

"Great! Once Peridot returns, we'll head out"

"By the way - Pearl?" Garnet spoke, changing the subject. "What was it you were talking about earlier when you came through the bedroom door?"

"...Oh! That's right - thank you for reminding me" Pearl opened up her purse and shifted a few things around inside it, pulling out a small green capsule-like object. "Remember when I kinda went crazy after finding out that Onniks had went to Rottix, and thought that he didn't have a way to get back home because he was stuck there? Well, during those three days he was gone, I was in the study trying to come up with a plan, when suddenly it hit me"

"That's when you came up with a plan?"

"Mmm... not exactly. See - I was getting so frustrated that I couldn't think of anything, that I kicked one of the bookshelves. Well, when I did that, an old shard from a broken warp pad fell from the top of the shelf and bonked be on the head. As I looked at the shard and analyzed what had happened, THAT'S when I came up with one. I cycled through my thoughts of 'Falling... warp pad?... Moving? Traveling?' when I realized that a warp pad is obviously too large to move as it is. So after a myriad of experiments and lab explosions, I developed this"

Pearl handed over the capsule to Garnet for further inspection and continued her story.

"Instead of boring you with the details, I'll just go ahead and say that what this basically does is creates a temporary warp pad that disintegrates after its use"

Garnet examined the capsule a bit further - longer than she usually takes, as if she was in deep contemplation.

"...Are you sure this'll work?" Garnet asked.

"Through all the trials and errors that I encountered during my experiments? I've no doubt that it will"

"Good. Wait for me outside - there's something I need to get"

"All...right? Anyways, Onniks? Lapis? Let's head on out"

As the three made their way to the door, Steven and Peridot returned from cleaning themselves off of the mud from earlier.

"Brand new Steve, fresh and clean!" said Steven as he displayed his attire with a grinning expression, stretching out with his hands behind his head.

"Alright - time to eat" Garnet replied. "But when you're done, need you to stay inside - it's gonna rain soon, and I don't want you getting sick"

"Rain already?" Steven pondered. "The skies were clear earlier"

Boooommm....

The timing of Steven's comment was coincidental, as the sound of thunder rolled through the air.

"Ooor, maybe not"

"We'd better get going" Onniks spoke as he hopped off the chair.

"What was it you needed my help with, again?" Peridot asked Pearl.

"We're gonna need some extra hands carrying groceries home, since Greg's out of town with the van"

"Is THIS what I have been reduced to?" Peridot complained "A mere errand Gem?"

Seeing an opening in Peridot's whining, Onniks chimed in with a counter insult of his own.

"Well, with as short as you are, I don't see how you could be reduced any further at all! OOOOOOH! Onniks on the re-bound!" he shouted as he held his fists up in triumph.

"By the way" Pearl spoke, changing the subject "Has anyone seen Amethyst?"

"She said she was gonna spend some time with Vidalia. Is there something wrong?" Garnet replied.

"No, Just double-checking is all. But now that I know where she is, hopefully we'll run into her on the way"

"I can help with something if you need it" Shade offered.

Onniks, considering Shade's offer, was also thinking about the situation of the others as well. That's when he remembered that Steven had to stay inside, which gave him an idea.

"Actually - here's what I need you to do" Onniks commented. He then walked over to the small closet under the stairs and obtained his tablet. "Since you're gonna be on Earth from now on, I think it'd be in your best interest to get acquainted with Earth culture"

"I can't be walking around this planet and remain ignorant of it forever - alright, I understand" Shade confirmed.

Onniks then approached Steven and handed him the tablet.

"I would like for you to do me a small favor, f you would be so kind" Onniks addressed Steven.

"Uhh - sure! What's up?"

"I would appreciate it if you would help Shade in learning more about Earth. Have her start with things that she'd want to know first, then progress from 

there"

"That... sounds kinda fun, actually. Who knows - maybe even I can learn something as well! Does this thing have a password on it?"

"No. Passwords are for people that need to hide something - and since I don't have anything to hide, I don't need a password"

Just then, Pearl quickly snatched the tablet from Steven and began fiddling with it.

"Actually, you DO have something to hide" Pearl corrected. About two minutes later, she handed the tablet back to Steven. "Here - use the Guest account"

"Is there something on there that I don't know about?" Onniks asked Pearl.

She then stepped close to him and leaned close to his ear and whispered something quietly. As she told him what was there, Onniks' eyes widened and his cheeks blushed, reactively tugging on his shirt collar as he took a forced gulp. After Pearl finished her explanation, she exited the front door in a hurry.

"Uhh... yeah, Steven - use the Guest account, please?" Onniks asked nervously.

"Why - what's on there?"

"I'll... tell you later"

"How much later?"

"Hopefully never" Onniks finished. He then quickly walked away and waited for Pearl outside.

As Lapis and Peridot followed them, Pearl reminded them to wait for Garnet. They remained on the porch for about five minutes, when Garnet walked outside, holding a small cardboard box. She then set it on the railing and pulled out two halves of a sphere about the size of a fist, which seemed to lock together with a twisting motion at the edges. In one of the halves, she placed a folded sheet of paper in it, along with the capsule Pearl created.

"Garnet?" Pearl addressed "What are you going to do with my capsule?"

"You'll see" Garnet causally responded. She placed the other half of the sphere on top of the first and closed it shut with a twist, then encased it inside a bubble afterwards. As she stared at the sky for a few seconds, she tossed the bubbled sphere upward and gave it a solid punch, sending it past the collecting clouds.

"Garnet!" Pearl yelled "Why did you just send my only capsule into space?"

"You'll thank me for this later - trust me" Garnet answered as she walked back inside the house.

"*sigh*...I guess she wouldn't have done that without a good reason" said Pearl. "Anyways - let's hurry and get some shopping done so we can try to beat the rain"

\-------------------------------------

Their shopping trip took longer than expected. As they stepped outside - each carrying several plastic bags - they noticed that the sky was darker than anticipated, with what little light of the day that was left beamed along the horizon along the beach. A fluttering noise was heard above them; as Onniks looked around, he saw a dark-colored bird pirched on a lamp post. However, with the light from the post shining directly at him, he couldn't make out the exact details of it.

Just then, a large sounding vehicle turned around the corner from the left side of the grocery store - it was a black charter bus with tinted windows and had two doors on the side, stopping directly in front of the group.

"Okay - who ordered the ominous-looking bus?" Onniks asked, which everyone shook their heads to the question in denial.

The side doors then opened up, where several guards dressed in tactical gear wielding assault rifles flanked the group from both sides.

"Drop the bags and get on. Now" the guard next to the front side door demanded.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the group had no choice but to comply. They set the bags on the ground and proceeded to enter the bus. Lapis and Peridot got on without hesitation, however Onniks stopped to confront the guard.

"There better be a good movie on this trip, or I'm gonna be pissed"

"Shut the hell up and get on the bus, smart-ass!" the guard ordered, shoving Onniks up the steps.

The interior of the bus had a rather peculiar structure to it. The first thing that was noticed was that all the lights were shut off. All the seats were facing the center of the isle, as opposed to facing the front as they normally would have been. On the right side, the seats had about a four inch space between them, while on the left, a specially constructed seat designed to fit a larger person was placed in the center of the row of seats. Further down, a guard standing in the middle of the isle swooped his rifle to the side, signaling to everyone to take a seat.

'Place your hands on the arm rests" he ordered.

As the group complied, they unknowingly activated a trigger on the ends of the arm rests which caused a set of metallic bracers to eject and secured their hands and feet to the chair.

"The boss wants to have a word with you momentarily" the guard that seated them spoke.

As the bus drove away, the bird that sat on the street lamp glided down next to the unsecured bags of groceries that were left behind. The bird then glew a light purple color, then grew in mass, changing into the familiar Amethyst.

"Just what the hell's going on!?" she thought to herself. "Gotta warn Garnet..."

As she started to leave, she looked back at the sacks still on the ground.

"I know now's not the time to worry about those, but I can't leave them here like this either. If I could find a way to carry them all at once, or even tie them-"

Amethyst came up with a solution mid-sentence. She spawned two of her whips - one in each hand - and threaded them through the handles of the bags and tied both ends together. With that task completed, she then morphed into a larger-appearing version of herself, but more similar to that of a television wrestler.

"No more time to waste - I gotta get home ASAP!" she told herself as she grabbed the tied up whips and lifted all the bags at the same time, taking off in a mild sprint towards the beach house.

Meanwhile, Onniks, Pearl, Lapis and Peridot remained secured to their seats as the bus continued to run its course. The dark tint on the windows prevented the Gems from observing their location. Heavy-sounding footsteps then made their way to the buckled group from the rear of the bus and sat down in the large seat in front of them. 

With a flick of the right hand, the shadowy figure flipped up a section of the arm rest, revealing a small console with several square-shaped buttons of various colors, with two chrome switches below the buttons. It took just a simple flick of one of the switches to activate the interior lights and put a shock on the group's faces as to who they confronted.

The boss wore a black dress suit with a white button-up shirt and a black necktie, with a pair of polished black dress shoes and black socks, long white hair in a ponytail, the skin tone of a terrible spray-on tan, a devious toothy grin and a familiar orange crystalline object where the nose should be.

"*gasp* Jasper? Is that.. really you?" Pearl asked.

"Hey, Pearl. Long time, no see" Jasper casually replied.

"[long whistle] Man, that is one snaaa-zzy get-up you got there" Onniks complimented. "What's the occasion?"

"I was able to contact Homeworld and Yellow Diamond," Jasper answered as she explained her side of the story "and she said that although I had failed my original mission, she's giving me one last chance to redeem myself - and that's only because of my loyalty and services in the past"

"Yeah, that's great and all" a condescending Peridot replied "but it doesn't explain why you're dressed in that fancy outfit"

"Well - mouth - if you'd shut up for five seconds, I would've gotten to that" Jasper angrily replied. "*sigh* Anyways... As I was saying - my first mission is to take full control over this wretched planet by any means necessary - in this case, since trying a direct fight would have led to my demise, I decided to instead go directly to the top - by influencing the mayor a few towns over"

"Wait - you actually managed to convince a mayor to give you a high-ranking position in their office?" Onniks asked.

"If by 'convince' you mean 'threatened to rip off his arms and beat him to a bloody pulp with them' - then yes"

"So, lemme guess" Lapis interjected "you intend on starting small and work your way up to even more power?"

Onniks then began feeling a sense of drowsiness as Jasper answered Lapis' question.

"Eventually, yes. I'd rather take my time and think things out methodically before I make any rash moves"

"And how long has this been going on?" Pearl questioned.

"Oh... about a month and a half"

"A month and a half? That was... back during when we ran into you at the renaissance fair"

"Yep. Kinda set my plans back a couple steps, but I'll fix that later"

"Then that package that was sent in the mail after that - the one with that Gem-corrupting agent - was that your doing?"

"That'd be correct. Since my retreat form the renaissance fair, I sought retaliation, so I wanted to pay you back with a... present, if you will"

"Yeah, well - your 'present' hurt - a lot... you bitch"

"Wait - YOU'RE the one that opened it? Ooohohoho! That's classic! But if YOU were the one infected, how did you get rid of it? I got the only cure for it"

"Never doubt the power of human ingenuity"

"Tch - I suppose not"

"*yawn* And what about my medical records you had that day?" Onniks interrogated. "What did you plan on doing with them? And how did you even get them?"

"I'm in a higher position of power than a mayor of the town he runs - I can get anything I want with just a snap of my finger. And with the dirt I dug up on you with the information in it, I was gonna use it as collateral to force you to join Homeworld's forces, but no matter: I already informed Yellow Diamond about everything"

"And what 'dirt' would that be?"

"That you're the son of Black Diamond - a Diamond that the Diamond Authority didn't even know existed"

"So I've been informed"

"Informed'? By who?"

"*yaaawnnn* A friend"

"Is that so? No matter - it's not like that's gonna do you any good"

Onniks then began nodding back and forth as he struggled to stay awake, which Pearl and Lapis saw as they were next to him.

"You alright, Onniks?" Lapis asked. "You look like you're gonna pass out"

"Huh - what?" he responded as he shot back up "Oh - yeah, I'm fine. Must be getting late"

"Now - earlier you mentioned that all this was part of our FIRST mission" Peridot spoke to Jasper. "What else is there for you to do?"

"Merely to provide a security force for a Gem currently on Earth undergoing some promising research"

"And... what kind of 'research' is that?"

"Heh - you'll find out later"

As Onniks continued to fall back to sleep, Pearl continued to confront Jasper.

"Whatever you have in mind - you're NOT gonna get away with it! Our friends will come to help us"

"No, they won't. I've already dispatched another team at your precious base to take care of them personally. They should be arriving there at about this time"

"There's... two innocent children there..." Onniks replied, struggling to remain conscious. "If... anything happens to them... I swear... I'll shatter your gem personally..."

"Look around you" Jasper replied. "You're currently not in the position to make such a claim"

With his vision blurred, he looked around himself the best he could, noticing first the shackles around his wrists. As he continued to observe his surroundings, the last thing he was able to see was one of the armed guards standing by, now wearing a gas mask. Onniks then lost all strength to stay awake as he finally fell asleep on the bus.


	32. Support From The Shadows

As Onniks and the others left for the supermarket, Connie approached the table where Steven was sitting at and took up an empty seat beside him, sharing the weenie wraps that Garnet had made just moments ago. They almost spared no time savoring the meal, as they hurried to finish it so they could attend to Onniks' request in assisting Shade. Once they finished, Steven grabbed the tablet and sat next to Shade, with Connie following him and sitting on the other side of Shade.

"Alright, Shade" Steven spoke "Just as Onniks requested, it's time for us to start teaching you about Earth!"

"What would you like to learn first?" Connie asked.

Shade took no time thinking about her first subject - she already knew what she wanted to learn about.

"...May I see your starmap of your planetary system?"

"?... OH! That!" Steven exclaimed. "Here, we call that the 'Solar System"

Steven then opened up a web browser and performed an image search of the solar system. Once he found a suitable picture - one with the sun on the left side and the planets in a line to the right - he enlarged it and shown it to Shade, who was awestruck at the picture.

"Here's a picture of our solar system" Steven began, starting on the left side of the image. "See this huge yellow ball of fire? That's the Sun - it provides light and heat to the planets orbiting around it"

"Hmhmhm! I'm well aware of its functions, just not the name!" Shade humorously replied.

"Oh - uhh.. well - that certainly makes this a little easier, haha! *cough* Anyways, let's continue: Past the sun orbits our solar system's family of planets - I'll just go ahead and list them for now, and Connie and I will try to answer any questions you may have later"

Steven then proceeded to list the planets in order, pointing at each one on the picture as he went along.

"Mercury, Venus, Earth (That's the planet we're on right now), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto"

"So many planets..." Shade spoke in admiration. "I'm surprised there's so much information on them"

"Unfortunately, even with what we know now, we still don't have much information on them" Connie replied. "All we know now is based on observable evidence - we still don't have the technology to send humans to investigate the, seeing as how not only are most planets too far away to send a human, but also that Earth is the only hospitable planet in our system - no other planet close by would be able to support human life"

"O-oh, I'm sorry to hear that"

"It's alright! We humans are driven by dreams and ambition - one day, we WILL achieve our goals!" Connie spoke, her right fist clenched in triumph and eyes filled with determination.

"So, is there anything in particular you needed to know about our planets and the solar system?" Steven asked Shade.

"As much as I'd like to learn more about the planets, my focus is more on the solar system, or rather - everything beyond it. For now, I would like to know how far away Rottix is from... 'Earth', as you call it"

"Okay... let's try this" Steven replied. He closed the image of the solar system and opened up a new search of the galaxy. "Does this group of stars look familiar at all?"

"*sigh* No - nothing at all - sorry" Shade answered in defeat.

"It's alright" Connie answered. "It seems we may need Pearl's help with this one - we just don't have adequate equipment to solve this question"

"I think you're right" Steven replied. "Oh! How about this, instead?" he continued, opening up a new tab on the browser and navigating to the OurTube website. "Let's just watch some videos until she comes back" 

"What kind of videos did you have in mind, Steven?" Connie pondered.

"Kittens"

"Kittens?" Both Connie and Shade pondered.

"Yes - kittens. Watch"

As Steven typed 'kittens' in the search box of the site, a long list of videos related to the subject appeared. As he skimmed through the videos, he noticed one that caught his attention.

"Here ya go, Shade - here's one you might like" Steven spoke as he showed her the video.

As it played, it started out with a close-up of someone's work boot. After just a few seconds, a pair of black paws poked out of the boot, which lifted up a blue-eyed, pure black kitten.

"AAAWWW! Look how small it is - its so cute!" Shade praised, adoring the animal's miniature size.

"What's even cuter are the things they do at random" Connie added.

"Wanna take a look?" Steven asked Shade.

"You bet I do!"

Steven, Connie and Shade watched kitten videos for roughly 20 minutes, not realizing how much time had passed. Their concentration was broke, however, as Garnet stood over them as they watched the videos.

"So... How's the studying coming along?" Garnet questioned.

"...! Oh, man - I completely forgot! I'm sorry, Garnet" Steven apologized. "We just wanted to take a small break and watch some kitten videos on OurTube, but I guess we lost track of time"

"Kitten videos, you say?" Garnet replied as she sat in an empty seat on the couch next to Steven. "There any good ones on?"

"As always! We're in the middle of a compilation video right now. There's about five minutes left- wanna watch it with us?"

"How could I refuse?"

The video had almost come to an end when the front door suddenly burst open, drawing the attention of everyone on the couch. There, they spotted a shape-shifted Amethyst - still in her wrestler form, dropping the bags of groceries next to the refrigerator and approached Garnet.

"We need to talk - now!" Amethyst demanded as she picked up Garnet from her seat and hoisted on her shoulder, carrying her in the direction of the magic door at the back of the house.

"Steven - be a dear and start putting the groceries away, please? I'll be back shortly to help" Garnet requested as Amethyst carried her past the door, the door itself closing afterwards.

"Do... weird things like that happen often here?" Shade spoke.

"That's... pretty normal, actually" answered Steven. "You wanna see weird, stick around for a while"

"Something tells me I don't want to"

"Let's hope not. Anyways, Garnet asked me to help with the groceries, so I better not dilly-dally"

""I'll help as well" Connie offered. "With two people, we can get this done twice as fast"

"If things get done faster with more people, then I'll help also" Shade commented.

"Cool - thanks, Shade!" Steven replied.

Several minutes pass by as the three managed to put away about one-third of the items that Amethyst dropped off. Connie and Shade were organizing boxed and canned items on the kitchen counter, while Steven sifted through the bags looking for any perishables that may have been hidden within the other items, setting them inside the fridge as he progressed. As the last perishable had been placed in the fridge, Steven approached Connie and Shade to help them.

"Well, the important food is put away" Steven spoke. " Now, time for the-"

Before Steven could finish his comment, the lights on the holojector turned bright red, followed by a buzzing noise emitting from the speakers.

"Steven? What's going on?" Connie asked, concerned about the alarming sound echoing through the house.

"I don't know - I've never seen this happen either"

Just then, the magic door opened, and Garnet and Amethyst jolted out of it, passing Steven, Connie and Shade as they left through the front door of the house and onto the porch, not saying a word. The three then followed Garnet and Amethyst outside to address them about the situation.

"Garnet - what in the world is going on?" Steven asked her, to which Garnet only replied with a simple answer.

"...Intruders"

From around the beach to the right from where the group was facing appeared a squad of seven guardsmen, matching the appearance that confronted Onniks and the others.

"See, Garnet?" Amethyst spoke "This is what I was talking about! These are the guys that kidnapped Pearl and the others!"

As they lined up horizontally from the groups point of view, the center-most guard took a step forward, aiming his rifle at the group as he spoke.

"Step away from the house and surrender now, and everything will be resolved peacefully"

"Whatta we do, Garnet?" Amethyst asked softly.

Gripping at the railing out of frustration - nearly snapping a section of it off - Garnet let go of it and turned to Steven and Connie.

"Get inside and wait for us - we'll be back shortly" she ordered.

"But Garnet, I wanna-" Steven tried commenting, but was quickly interrupted.

"No 'buts'!" Garnet scolded. "Now's not the time to argue - just hide for now"

*sigh*..."Alright. Connie - let's go" he replied, carefully grasping Connie's hand as he guided her in the house.

As they went inside, Garnet, Amethyst and Shade walked down the steps of the patio and lined up in front of the guards, with Shade on Garnet's left, and Amethyst on her right.

"Alright - what do you want? And what did you do to our friends?" Garnet questioned the mercenary in the center.

"We are under direct orders from the one known as 'Jasper' to apprehend the remainder of the faction group known as the 'Crystal Gems' and take them into custody" he answered.

"Wait - Jasper? The one with the gem where her nose is? How the hell did she manage to control a squad of human mercenaries?"

"That information is classified"

The mercenary to the presumed leader's right then approached him, whispering in his ear quietly. As the leader shifted his eyes around, scanning the area, he gave a tiny nod towards his subordinate, returning him back to his position then took a couple steps towards Garnet.

"...There's one missing" he spoke to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"The boy that bears a pink gem on his navel - he is to come with us as well"

"Like hell, he is!" Garnet responded as she spawned her gauntlets on her fists and took up a fighting stance, with Amethyst conjuring her whip as well.

The mercenaries, presuming Garnet now as a possible threat, aimed their rifles at her, switching their weapons from "safe" to "burst".

"I'm not gonna ask again" the leader of the squad replied. "All of you - including the boy - surrender peacefully and come with us, or we WILL open fire indiscriminately"

"Any plans?" Amethyst asked Garnet. "There's no way we can take them all on like this"

Shade, however, came up with a plan of her own, now realizing the tension between both groups and the upcoming fight, despite not being on Earth for very long.

"...I can take them" she spoke, stepping in front of Garnet.

As she held up her hands in from of her face - palms facing each other, a shadowy orb channeled between her hands, which then took the form of a mist and surrounded her knuckles and extended past her fingers from her palms. Within a second, the mist took a new form in her hands: a black strap around her knuckles, and a dagger in each hand.

Shade didn't hesitate for a second. With a quick flick of her wrists, she sent a dagger flying towards the mercenaries standing on the far ends of the line, striking them both in the neck. A thin string that connected the daggers to the straps on Shade's knuckles shimmered in the moonlight. She then crossed her arms, yanking the daggers to the side from her first victims and cutting the next two in the jugular.

The leader of the mercenary squad caught a glimmer of the two strings curving towards him at the last moment and lunged backwards as the pair of daggers miss his face by mere inches, dropping his rifle as he landed on his back and pressed back away from the Gems along the sand.

"Missed one" Shade spoke as she retracted her daggers back to her hands. "I'll get him this-mmmf"

Before she could finish, Garnet stopped her by coupling her hand over Shade's mouth as she pulled Shade close to her.

"I know you're still new to Earth and you're still unfamiliar with our customs, so I can't rightfully blame you" Garnet spoke "but don't kill your enemies here"

Shade replied, sliding Garnet's hand off her mouth so she could speak, "But why not? They'll kill us first if we-"

"I know - I'll explain later. Just trust me on this for now"

Shade then let out a defeated sigh.

"...Alright - I understand"

Meanwhile, the mercenary leader - panicking as he witnessed his teammates fall as their blood soaked in the sand next to him - tried to recover his rifle. As he reached for the stock, a thick black cord encrusted with several purple stones wrapped around the rifle.

"Don't you even think about it!" Amethyst exclaimed as she pulled on her whip and yanked the rifle away from the mercenary and into Garnet's hands, where Garnet then broke the rifle in half over her right knee.

The mercenary then scrambled to his feet, unclipping a small electronic device with a bright light blue screen from his belt and began repeatedly pushing on it with his right index finger as he walked a short distance away from the area.

"You, there! What is it you're planning?" Garnet demanded an answer from the mercenary.

"Executing 'Plan B" he replied.

"Plan B'? The hell's a 'Plan B'?" Amethyst pondered.

"Most likely another way of making sure we don't leave here alive" Garnet answered.

Out in the ocean just a short distance from the shore, the water in a small area began to spread apart, sending out waves in a circular pattern as a tall structure arose from the depths. As the remaining water rushed off the submerged object, what was revealed was nothing short of a science fiction movie coming to life - an automated robot designed strictly for battle. Standing at about fifteen feet tall, it possessed a human-style bipedal design, with chrome plating protecting its vital areas, a long cylinder on its back, a square outline on its left palm, and a rectangular outline on the outside of its right forearm. On the machine's head, a glowing horizontal line that streaked along the upper part of its head emitted a crimson light.

"It's like it just popped right out of a sci-fi flick" Amethyst commented on the design of the enemy

The metallic machine then kneeled down on its hands in a push-up style position, revealing a small dome that the cylinder was attached to - which everyone (save for Shade) realized that it was a rotary canon.

Garnet - having not even a second to spare - activated her Future Vision to anticipate the robot's next move - which was to fire a cylinder-shaped, impact-detonated rocket-propelled grenade directly at her. Knowing this, she then stood in a stance as if she were about to take a massive hit.

"Whaddaya think you're doing, Garnet?" Amethyst asked, concerned about her friend's current plan of action. "You think you can really stop that thing by yourself?"

"Whether or not I can or can't doesn't matter right now - what matters is that I HAVE to..."

A small explosion erupted from the turret-style canon that was mounted on the robot, firing the grenade at Garnet. Garnet, however, knowing the type of projectile that was fired, grabbed and held the shell on its sides with all of her strength as the propulsion from the rocket forced Garnet to dig into the sand.

The fuel that was propelling the grenade lasted for only a few seconds until it had finally ran out. Garnet - still holding on to the sides of the still-live grenade - stepped out of the small area of sand she was pushed in and carefully rotated the rocket around, ready to throw it back at the machine.

"I believe this belongs to you" said Garnet as she threw the grenade back at the robot, hitting it on its back and damaging the canon.

The force of the explosion then sent the mechanical monster skidding back along the the sand, powering down as the light on its head dimmed out, and its body plopping on the beach.

Hearing the ruckus from inside the house, Steven and Connie ran out onto the patio to observe the situation, only to find a lifeless robot lying on the beach, while Amethyst and Shade approached Garnet, congratulating her on her victory. The two kids - noticing that the situation had been alleviated - ran down the stairs to inquire about the battle.

"Garnet - is everything alright out here?" Steven asked.

"Yeah - we heard that explosion from inside - we just wanted to make sure no one got hurt" Connie added.

"There's nothing to fear anymore" Garnet answered them, rubbing their heads to comfort them. "There aren't gonna be any more catastrophic robots running rampant anymore"

As Garnet was conversing with Steven and Connie, Shade couldn't help but remain fixated on the robot. That's when she noticed that the red light on its head had reactivated.

"...I don't think that thing's defeated yet" she spoke.

As the group looked at the grounded machine, they witnessed it powering back up and standing upright on its feet, seemingly without a scratch.

"...You aren't gonna beat it that easily" the mercenary spoke, still standing close by. "The Gemcrusher has a pure titanium shell that's three inches thick - all you did to it was made it dizzy"

The robot - Gemcrusher - immediately prepared for a counter-attack. It held out its left hand towards the group and activated the square-shaped indent on its palm, folding it inside its hand as a wide-looking chrome barrel emerged for inside its arm.

"What's it doing, now?" Shade asked, not addressing anyone in particular.

"It's getting ready to attack again" Garnet answered as she posed in a fighting stance.

The barrel that was aimed at everyone rapidly emitted a bluish-white light from the inside, with a low-to-high tone humming noise following.

Steven reacted immediately by taking a step in front of everyone and held out his hands with his palms facing away from him.

"Everyone, close in!" he exclaimed, to which they complied.

A pink light then shone from Steven's gem which produced a bubble-like orb to grow from the gemstone and encasing everyone close by, with the top of it resembling rose petals that folded down on each other and forming a complete seal on the top of the orb, thus creating a shield-like barrier around them.

As Steven finished creating his bubble shield, the robot Gemcrusher took its shot with it's charged weapon, firing a white light in the shape of a precision bullet at the bubble. The impact from the shot had sent the bubble - and everyone inside it - across the sand away from the house at an angle. The bubbled rolled for about twenty feet until it stopped. As the group regained their composure and stood back up, they noticed that there was now a spiderweb-designed crack in Steven's shield.

"Man, that was too close for our own good" said Amethyst.

Garnet then reached out and placed her hand on Steven's shoulder in praise of his efforts.

"That was some quick thinking, Steven - good job!" she told him, which made him blush in embarrassment.

"Aww, thanks Garnet" he replied, turning his attention back at Gemcrusher. "But what are we gonna do about that?"

But before anyone could answer, Gemcrusher was already setting up for a counterattack. It retracted the barrel it used earlier back into its hand, then opened up the rectangular section on its right forearm, ejecting a metallic sword-style blade. As soon as the weapon was exposed, it dashed across the beach towards the shielded group at a speed that was surprisingly fast for something that size, drawing it blade back as it closed in.

"Everyone get down!" Garnet shouted as she tucked both Steven and Connie under her as she kneeled over them. 

Amethyst and Shade both complied, getting down on their knees and cupping their hands over their heads in a defensive position as the group braced for the attack. However, after waiting several moments for the attack, everyone noticed that nothing had happened at all. Curious as to the delay, everyone in the bubble then recovered from their positions and stood back on their feet - only to see that the tip of Gemcrusher's blade had stopped inches away from connecting with the cracked area on the shield.

"What happened to it?" Connie inquired. "Is it malfunctioning?"

"I don't think so" answered Garnet. "Look at it closer"

Connie - along with the rest of the group - inspected Gemcrusher further, finding out that it was jittering as if it were fighting back against something that was holding it back. But no matter how much it tried to resist, Gemcrusher was overpowered, and forced to stand upright against its will, with the blade on its right arm pointed away from the bubble. Several sparks then shot out from an opening at its shoulder as its arm began twisting around. Then, unexpectedly, its arm had detached from its body - as if it were torn off by an invisible entity - sending a barrage of sparks flying out like fireworks. As the light on Gemcrusher's head began fading on and off, it then began slowly losing power, unable to remain combative. But through all this, its arm had inexplicably remained suspended in the air.

"Will someone PLEASE tell me just what's going on!?" Amethyst cried out.

While everyone else was scanning the area, Shade was the only one that noticed Gemcrusher's shadow - that part of it had something sticking out of it, similar to an appendage that wasn't there. She then knew immediately what was going on.

"Steven?... Please remove this barrier" she requested, to which Steven glanced back at her puzzlingly.

"What? Why - what's going on?"

"Trust me - you'll see in a few moments"

Steven the turned his attention back to Garnet, which she then gave a short nod in confirmation. As the shield was lifted, all that was left was to see the results of what happened to the robot.

From Gemcrusher's shadow on the ground billowed out an ominous black mist, which collected on its injured side into the shape of a humanoid figure nearly as tall as Gemcrusher itself, which had attached itself to Gemcrusher's severed arm. As a lengthy breeze from the ocean blew across the beach, it hit against the black mist and spread it through the air like a cloud of dust, revealing what was underneath.

A woman of seemingly emotionless expression - appearing with the same color scheme as Shade. She had a slender but athletic build, with the same skin tone and long, thin hair that reached down to her hips with trimmed bangs to her eyebrows. She wore a pair of dark gray bandages on her feet, a pair of cloth black martial arts-style pants with a black tie string, and a light gray sleeveless shirt. And, just like Shade, she wore a black eye patch on her left eye. Her right eye, however, was bright blue.

Still in possession of Gemcrusher's blade in her right hand, the mysterious woman faced the malfunctioning robot and moved with a speed almost indescribable: as if one was watching a skipping video.

SHHIINK!

In a blink of an eye, Gemcrusher had now fallen to the ground in several pieces, with cuts that severed it from along its knees, torso, and neck.

Three slices - one move. Her lighting-fast maneuverability had left the group completely awestruck.

Dropping the now useless blade among the robotic rubble,as the lady from the shadows readjusted her hair, Shade squeezed out from between Steven and Garnet from the group and approached her.

"...It's... it's you..." Shade spoke as she stepped closer to her. "I just knew it! I knew it had to be you...."

As the woman glanced at Shade slowly approaching, she took a quick gasp in shock as her blue eye widened - as if she'd recognized her in an instant. With her body completely enveloped in the same mist from before, her body mass had shrunk down to about Garnet's height, where she reformed back into her previous attire and stepped towards Shade, with her arms extended towards her with a relieving smile on her face.

Shade continued to walk towards the woman, starting with a several small steps, which progressed into a jogging pace, and then finally into a full-blown sprint as she dashed into the lady's arms, burying her face in the woman's chest as Shade wrapped her arms around the woman's waist.

"*sniff*...How come you never said anything?" Shade asked in a muffled voice, as she was still clenched in the woman's chest.

"I know I owe you an explanation - and you'll definitely get one" the woman answered, caressing Shade's head to comfort her "however there's one more I need to find first. I owe you both the same explanation anyways - it'll just be more convenient that way, alright?"

Shade only replied with a few short nods. With the conflict now settled, the rest of the group slowly approached the woman as well.

"I have no idea who you are," Garnet addressed her, casually readjusting her eyewear "but thanks for your help back there - we really appreciate it"

"Ain't that the truth!" Amethyst added. "We were about to become gemflakes if you hadn't arrived!"

"Heh - glad I could help" she replied with a half-smile.

"...Excuse me - ma'am?" Steven spoke to the mystery lady as polite as possible "I ask this with utmost respect, but... who - exactly ARE you?"

"...Allow me to answer that" Shade answered, overhearing Steven's request of the woman's identification.

As she stepped to the lady's left side, she faced the group to give her introduction.

"Everyone, allow me to introduce to you: My Diamond - Jette - also known as "Black Diamond"


	33. Fleeing from Captivity (Part 1)

Everyone stood in shock as they were revealed the identity of the woman from the shadow - Jette, or Black Diamond as Shade had referred to her as - everyone except for Garnet, who began pondering Shade's words.

"Jette... Where've I heard that name, before?" she thought to herself, while the others conversed.

"But how is that even possible?" Amethyst asked. "I've heard of Pink, Yellow, Blue, and White Diamond, but never Black"

"Former Diamond, actually" Jette corrected. "I sacrificed a chunk of my power, but for good reason. And the reason you've never heard of me is part of the reason why I'm here tonight"

"But then what's the other part? There's gotta be-"

"Wait - I just remembered!" Garnet interrupted. "I knew I recognized Jette's name from somewhere"

"Huh? Really?" Amethyst questioned. "How so?"

"I remember seeing it on Onniks' birth certificate - she's his mother"

"Holy crap - THAT'S his mom!?'

"You got it" Jette answered. "But how did you come across that certificate? There was only supposed to be one copy of it secured away"

"Onniks retrieved it from Jasper during one of their encounters" Garnet answered.

"A Jasper had it? Did she say how or why she got it?"

"No - sorry. We still don't know"

"*sigh*... I see. Is Onniks close by, by any chance? I need to talk to him - as well as everyone else here"

"No, ma'am, he's not" Amethyst regrettably replied. "I saw him and a few of our friends get kidnapped by a bunch of mercenaries with rifles about an hour ago"

"Dammit... Alright" Jette scowled as she paced back and forth on the sand with her arms folded around each other in front of her. "Did you see where they went?"

"Straight east - from the supermarket in a huge bus. That same road goes directly outta town. After that, I don't know - sorry"

"It's alright thanks" Jette replied, then turned her attention to Shade. "Pearl - come"

Shade then immediately stood by Jette's side as ordered without hesitation.

"Where are we going?" Shade asked.

"On a little rescue mission" Jette answered her, then turned her attention back to Garnet. "Try not to go too far - we'll return back here ASAP. Oh - and by some slight chance that Onniks happens to make it back before I do, don't tell him I was here - I wanna be the one to surprise him"

"Yes, ma'am - understood" Garnet answered with a gentle nod.

As Jette extended her right arm, a circular shadow beneath them extended as far as she reached in all directions. With a short hop in the air, both Jette and Shade's bodies disappeared into the shadow the further they fell in it, with the shadow closing in on itself into nonexistence as soon as they were through.

"Steven? Connie?" Garnet spoke. Two pairs of small feet then shuffled through the sand towards her.

"What's up?" Steven asked.

Kneeling down on one knee, Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder and answered his simple question.

"It's been a long night - why don't you two hurry upstairs and try to get some sleep"

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Connie asked.

Shaking her head in rejection, Garnet answered her. "Amethyst and I can take care of this"

"Alright - we understand. Steven, you ready?"

"*yaaaawnnn* Ready as I'll ever be" Steven answered tiringly. "See ya in the morning, Garnet"

As the two kids made their way inside the house, Garnet analyzed the beach - now littered with blood, bodies and broken robot parts.

"*uuugggh*... This night just got even longer than I had wanted"

\----------------------------------------------------------------

*nudge nudge*

.......

*nudge nudge*

"Mmm..."

"Onniks? C'mon get up"

"Mmm-huh? What?"

As Onniks opened his eyes, he found himself laying on his left side on a concrete floor, with Pearl in front of him. As he leaned up, he obseved his surroundings closer and noticed he and Pearl were surrounded in a tall room with three concrete walls and a framed prison-style section with a sliding door constructed of bars. Past the bars was a large open area nearly three times the length of the cell, and a pair of large metal doors with several round holes punched out of it.

"What the hell happened? Onniks asked.

"You were knocked out - the bus that we were on was filled with sleeping gas"

"How long was I out?"

"About ten hours or so"

"That long? Damn... So - what's the current situation?"

"We're being held prisoner under Jasper's orders"

"Any idea why?"

"Still no clue, however I believe it has something to do with what she mentioned on the bus earlier - about her securing some research - I believe this could be their facility"

"And what about Lapis and Peridot? Are they here as well?"

"Yeah. They're in the cell next to us beyond that wall behind you"

"Hey, is that Onniks?" Lapis' voice echoed from the other side of the wall. "Is he up, now?"

"Yeah, I am. How're you two holdin' up over there?"

Peridot then answered his question with her signature sarcastic attitude.

"You mean other than being held captive against our will in an undisclosed location that's designed to perform Diamond-knows-what kind of experiments? I'd say we're doing pretty damn peachy"

"At any rate..." Onniks replied as he stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants "...we need to get outta here, otherwise we'll be in the same situation as Pearl was"

"Right - I completely agree" confirmed Pearl. "Onniks - if you will"

"I'm on it" he replied. He then stuck out his hand close to the bars of the cell to spawn his portal to escape...

...But nothing happened.

"Wait - what?" he spoke softly to himself as he continued to thrust his arm out towards the bars. "The hell's going on?"

"What's the matter?" asked Pearl, staring at him confusedly.

"M-my portal - I-I-I can't cast it at all!" he exclaimed.

One of the metallic doors at the other end of then room the swung open, revealing a Gem of about average height walking towards the caged group. Donning a yellow color palette of varying shades, she had a light yellow skin tone and wore a beige maillot with canary-tinted shoulder lace, pale yellow stockings and a pair of bright yellow flat sandals. She had yellow hair that swooped somewhat vertically and a round yellowish-white stone similar to Pearl's on the center of her chest. A "Yellow Pearl" she was assumed to be.

"Try all you want - it's not going to work" she spoke to Onniks with a half-tired expression, having the accent of an old-fashioned telephone operator.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Onniks asked.

"All four of your gems have been scanned and registered into our local database. Currently, there are emitters that are producing a counter-frequency that render your magic inoperable"

"No loss on MY part, then" Peridot replied. "I'm not even sure if I HAVE any magic"

"I'm sure you do" Lapis spoke to Peridot in an attempt to comfort her. "I'll help you find them when we get outta here - even if I have to drag them out somehow"

"Wait...what?" Peridot questions with a puzzled look on her face. "What's this, all of a sudden?"

"Oh, uh... nothing..." Lapis answered as she shyed away from Peridot.

Pearl then stood up and approached the bars, confronting the yellow Gem in front of her to change the subject.

"*sigh* Anyways - why are we here? Jasper said we were going to a research facility when we were apprehended"

"That's part true. While this is a research facility for Gem-based technology - YOU four, however, won't be staying here for long"

"And why's that?" asked Onniks.

"THAT - is something Jasper wanted to tell you herself"

As soon as Yellow Pearl's comment concluded, both of the double doors flung open, slamming against the wall and echoing through the room. From the other side of the doors came Jasper, walking with a stature as if she had a score to settle.

"I'll take it from here" Jasper told Yellow Pearl. "Return back to your station"

"As you wish" she replied, standing upright with her arms crossed upwards in front of her as her wrists bent back forming the shape of a diamond until Jasper passed her, then trotted out of the room.

"Jasper - just what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Pearl spoke with an angry voice. ""Why did you bring us here?"

"You're 'here' because we've requested transportation for you assholes back to Homeworld"

"Homeworld? Why are we going back there?" Lapis asked.

"To put it as simply as possible - you're all wanted for treason"

"Treason? That's absurd!" Pearl criticized. "If anything. it's Homeworld that should be accused of treason for war crimes against their own Gems!"

"You should know that's not how Homeworld does things, Pearl" Jasper replied.

"Ugh - such a pain in the ass" Peridot groaned. "Well, if we do go to Homeworld, then at least we should be granted a painless death istead of some inhumane torture"

(Peridot...?) Lapis thought to herself as she looked at her sorrowfully.

"No, you're still gonna get tortured" Jasper corrected Peridot. "You're basically going there for the Diamonds to decide on 'how'"

"We... never had a snowball's chance in hell that we'd get to defend ourselves, huh?" Pearl pondered out loud. "...Well, then what about Onniks? He doesn't have any association with Homeworld, so he shouldn't be subjected to anything there"

"Well, it turns out that your little boyfriend here..." Jasper answered as she lifted Onniks' chin up with her right hand, gazing into his eyes - now filled with contempt "...Is to be a trophy for Yellow Diamond. See - unlike that 'Steven' kid who's only half quartz, this one is half diamond - he'd make a great addition to her-"

C-C-C-C-C-CLACK! C-C-C-CLACK! CLACK! C-C-CLACK!

Jasper's method of intimidation was cut short by the muffled sounds of machine guns firing off from above. The lights in the room then shut off suddenly, then turned back on with a red tint.

"Just what in the hell is going on out there?" Jasper spoke to herself softly.

The metal doors burst open once again, revealing the Yellow Pearl from earlier as everyone observed her sprinting towards Jasper.

"Give me a report!" Jasper commanded Yellow Pearl.

"Th-the facility's been infiltrated by an unknown enemy" Yellow Pearl replied, slightly cringing her body nervously.

"What!? What do you mean 'unknown'?"

"We literally can't see or detect them - it's like they're invisible. We've only been able to estimate where they are by watching where the humans fall to the ground"

"You've gotta be fucking-...*sigh* Aright, I'll take care of this - you stay here and keep an eye on the prisoners"

"As you wish"

As Jasper bolted out of the room, Yellow Pearl faced the cells and stood at parade rest as ordered.

"We gotta find a way to get out of these cells..." spoke Pearl.

"But with whatever's out there, I think we'd be safer in here" Peridot added.

"And what if it does decide to come here?" Lapis commented. "We don't have a way to defend ourselves with their security blocking out our magic"

"Well, since 'our' gems have been rendered ineffective,'We' might not be able to use magic..." Onniks replied, peering devilishly at Pearl.

"...But 'she' can, since she hasn't been registered" Pearl added, glaring at Onniks with the same expression, where they both then snickered in unison.

"Wait - 'she'? Who's 'she'?" Yellow Pearl demanded."What are you two planning?"

With Pearl's right hand and Onniks' left held in each other's, they stepped away from the cage and into the center of the cell, where they then proceeded to dance. As their technique became progressively more efficient, their dance became as simple as a few ballroom maneuvers, followed by a dip led by Onniks. As their bodies formed into light, they merged together to once again become Hematite, who was kneeling on the floor on her right knee as to save headroom in the cell.

"Not good - not good at all" Yellow Pearl spoke upon seeing Hematite's presence.

Hematite then placed her right index finger on the floor, then brought it up and over her head, then back on the ground, forming a half circle in front of her were a portal had appeared, leading out of the cell and close to the wall next to Lapis and Peridot's cell. As Hematite inched her way through the portal, she could clearly see Yellow Pearl step away from her, once again cringing in fear. Repeating her previous magic, she created another portal to her side, with the previous portal disappearing at the same speed as she created the new one leading into the other cell with both cellmates running out of it.

"A-are you gonna kill me?" Yellow Pearl asked. "Please don't kill me..." To which Hematite only chuckled at her comment.

"Hmhmhm - no, I'm not. Don't worry" she answered with a warming smile.

"But I'm the enemy, and-"

"Tell me" Hematite interrupted, which made Yellow Pearl look at her in confusion "Why did you comply with Jasper's orders a while ago? Was it out of duty? Or fear?"

"Uhh.. a... little of both, I guess. But a little more to the 'fear' side"

"That's why I won't kill you - not that I would've anyways, but still - I think you really need to contemplate on your future life choices. Take some time to think for yourself and decide on whether you believe you're doing the right thing for yourself"

"I... I don't know. Deflecting from My Diamond's authority? Being shattered would be too lenient a punishment if anyone got caught"

"I'm not forcing you to decide right now, just... think on it for a while, alright?" 

"Y-yeah. Sure.."

Wtih her request considered, Hematite then looked around the room, observing its structure.

"So, how do we get out of here?" she asked.

"It's three floors up to the surface, however the rooms above will be smaller and narrower - your current form won't fit, which means that you'd have to separate"

"What!?" Hematite cried out in disappointment. "I just got here, and now I gotta leave? What a pain..."

"What's the problem?" Yellow Pearl inquired. "With your strength, you could easily punch a hole straight to the top floor with no effort whatsoever"

"...No" Hematite answered. "I can't tell if there's anymore fighting going on, and I don't want to risk anymore casualties than there already are"

HUAH! *C-C-C-CRRRRGGGHHH*

Hematite smashed her fist against the ceiling of the room, punching a small hole to the next floor above them, with chunks of concrete falling down along her arm. As she held onto the new ledge she created with what space she could grab onto with both hands, she pulled herself up and unfused back to Onniks and Pearl once they reached the top. As they looked back down the hole, they noticed that Lapis and Peridot were unintentionally left down in the room.

"Hold tight for a few - we'll find a way to get you up here" Onniks spoke.

"Actually, lemme try something" Lapis rebutted. As she concentrated on her back, a pair of aquatic wings sprouted from her gem. Yellow Pearl - confused about Lapis' ability - confronted her about it.

"Impossible - You're not supposed to use magic here"

"My wings aren't magic" Lapis confirmed "They're an extension of my body in the form of water that's compressed inside my gem"

"...Huh" Yellow Pearl simply replied dumbfoundedly. "I must admit - I didn't see THAT one coming..."

With a couple flaps of her wings to test them out, Lapis turned to Peridot to address her.

"Alright, hop on my back - I'll give you a ride up" Lapis offered, to which Peridot reluctantly obliges, clenching firmly onto Lapis with her eyes closed as they both flew in the air.

"I swear, Lazuli - you drop me, and I'm taking you with me" Peridot complained, followed by a couple of soft taps on the ground.

"...You can get down now, scaredy cat" Lapis spoke to Peridot. As Peridot slowly opened her eyes, she noticed that they were now standing safely next to Pearl and Onniks on the next floor. Looking around the new room, she also observed several wooden folding tables and a few chairs, along with a chalkboard pushed back next to a wall by a door.

"Alright - everyone ready?" asked Onniks.

"As in 'Ready to get out of this dump'? - Yes" Lapis answered.

As the group started to head for the door, a single voice - Yellow Pearl's - was heard from below, stopping the group and causing them to scope the floor below once again.

"Hey, uh..

...Thanks" Yellow Pearl bashfully said to Pearl and Onniks.

"No prob! / Glad to help!" Onniks and Pearl replied respectively, with a 'thumbs up' from Onniks, and a smile with a wave goodbye from Pearl. As everyone upstairs headed out of the room, Yellow Pearl continued to stare up with one thing on her mind.

(...Why didn't they just use the elevator?) she thought to herself.

Upon exiting the room, the small group entered a single hallway with a dead end behind them, and a door at the other end of the hallway. Along the sides, several doors that lead to other rooms are lined up equidistant from each other. As they ran for the main door leading out of the hallway, three mercenaries were spotted laying on the floor. As Pearl checked all three of them with a pair of her fingers on their necks, her only response was a soft head shake - none of them were no longer alive.

"Dammit... We need to hurry up and get outta here" Onniks spoke. "Anyone know how to do that?"

"I recognize some of this area" Pearl confirmed. "It's a pretty straight-shot route, however the hallways are kinda long"

As Onniks looked closer at the bodies, he saw that the mercenaries were wielding assault rifles, which he then carefully removed one from a corpse and took possession of it. Pearl, however, was concerned about his unpredictable action.

"What do you think you're doing with that?" she asked.

"With our magic still nullified, I gotta defend my self somehow, right?"

"I suppose you're right. Just... please don't kill anyone, alright? I mean - poofing Gems, I can understand since we regenerate our bodies, but-*mmf*"

Onniks placed two of his fingers on Pearl's lips to quiet her down mid-sentence.

"I know. I promise - nothing's gonna happen" he replied, which made Pearl smile appreciatively. "Lead the way, please?"

Wtih the conversation finalized, the gang then headed through the door, where several flights of stairs spiraled upwards to the next floor. However, upon entering throught the door, came a bit of a surprise for the group - teams of mercenaries laid out down the hall, with their lifeless bodies strewn out from one end to the other.

"Yeah, if we could hurry up and get out of this madhouse - that'd be great" Onniks spoke, while the others nodded in agreement.

As they continued down the hall - carefully stepping over each casualty trying to not make a sound - they reached the end where it broke into a "T"-shaped fork, where the ceiling rose twice its height. On the wall ahead was a sign with a picture of a staircase with an arrow pointing to the right. However, before they could make the turn, everyone heard an unfamiliar female voice yelling from the opposite direction, along with what seemed to be multiple pairs of footsteps approaching their direction. The group then pressed themselves against the wall closest towards the voice and kneeled down, attempting to conceal themselves as they eavesdropped on the commotion.

"I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS IF YOU CAN SEE THEM OR NOT, JASPER!" the unknown voice shouted "I want whoever attacked my facility fucking obliterated! Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly" Jasper answered in a surprisingly calm manner.

"Good" the second voice replied as both members continued walking down the hall. "Release 'Experiment Sixteen-Beta - I don't want to see anything alive later"

"Sixteen-Beta? We still don't have full control over it yet"

As one of the sets of footsteps stopped just before where the hallways intersect, the other kept going just a few more steps, placing her in plain view of the four Gems.

Standing at about two and a half feet taller than Jasper, she had a slender figure and bore a dark orange skin tone. She also wore a gold-tinted skirt that tied into a knot on her waist and exposing her right leg, and a similar-style top, but knotted on her left shoulder. Her hair was blonde with long waves, with a pair of evenly-spaced bangs drooped over her face, and a pair of black-framed glasses with half-oval lenses over her orange-yellow eyes.

The unrecognized Gem then turned around to face Jasper, luckily with her back towards the group, not noticing them. As they got a better view of her left side, they noticed a circular, translucent tannish-orange triangular-faceted stone on the back of her left hand.

"Did I FUCKING STUTTER, Jasper?" she angrily replied, holding up her hands in frustration.

"No - you did not..."

"Exactly. Now - is there anything ELSE - you wanna waste my time with?"

"The prisoners in the holding cells - what do you want done with them?"

"Screw 'em. They're supposed to die, anyways, so let 'em rot in there. Besides, I don't want to waste Yellow Diamond's time with trash"

"And the hybrid? He's to be presented to Her"

"To hell with him as well. 'He' doesn't actually matter, but his gemstone does. So we'll just wait until he finally drops dead, rip the stone from his squishy carcass and gift the stone to Her then"

"Roger - leave everything to me"

"Head back to the ship once you're finished - we'll retreat for the time being until all this blows over, come back to collect whatever remains, then report back to Yellow Diamond"


	34. Fleeing from Captivity (Part 2)

As the two Gems parted ways, the others waited a few minutes for their route to clear before proceeding. Pearl - leading the group - peeked down both directions of the hallway, making sure no one was around. Once the area was secure, Pearl directed the others to head down the direction towards the stairs. The hallway - despite being a bit longer than anticipated - was coincidentally void of human casualties - as if most of the fighting earlier took place on the lower floors.

Once they got to the end of the hall, they once again took another flight of stairs to the first floor, where once they entered the door from the stairwell, they saw a wide hallway with a pair of doors on the left side in the middle of the hall, and further down it was a larger, reception-style area and a second pair of doors at the far end, presumed to be the main entrance. As they walked near the doors in the hallway, they saw a small sign on the left side of the doors reading "STORAGE".

"Quick - everyone in here - hurry!" Peridot exclaimed as she frantically pushed down on the handle on the right side door and entered the room.

Not understanding what's going on, the others decided to follow her, in hopes to find some answers. The storage room was medium-sized, containing metal frames along the walls and center of the room - stacked from the floor to the ceiling with black security boxes, a few of which had tilted yellow squares painted on them.

"Alright, Peridot - just what in the Homeworld is going on?" Pearl inquired.

"Okay, SO! - remember when we first got here, and were escorted down this hallway?"

"Yeeeaaahhh...?"

"Well, as I was passing this door, I saw a couple humans stacking those yellow-squared boxes on these shelves - however one of the boxes was left open, and that's when I saw some equipment inside it that I could definitely use"

"And what kind of 'equipment' are you talking about?"

"You'll see! Just... give me three minutes"

"*sigh*...Alright - but only three. Any longer, and we're leaving with or without whatever you're looking for"

"Thanks, Pearl! I'll be right back!"

Peridot then ran off around the metal shelving in the center of the room from the left and to the back of the room on the right. Sounds of something scraping on the concrete floor were heard coming from the rear of the room. The echo of plastic slamming on the floor suggested to everyone that Peridot had opened one of the boxes she was hoping to find.

"HA! This is it!" Peridot exclaimed. "Now - just need to slip these on, and...

...*oof* There we go!"

As Peridot returned to the group, she revealed to everyone her slightly drastic change in her appearance: a set of green extensions were attached to her elbows and knees, adding several inches to her height and arm reach - standing nearly as tall as Lapis. With the addition to her extensions, a set of neon green rods seemed to be hovering close to her wrists.

"So - what'chyall think?" she asked.

"Holy crap - Peridot's firmware's just been updated to two-point-one" Onniks answered.

"Magnificent - I know" Peridot replied, arrogantly standing with her body cocked to her right side as she ran her new makeshift fingers through her hair.

"*sigh* Limb enhancers... I had forgotten how much you relied on those..." said Pearl.

"Relied?" Onniks asked. "What exactly are they used for?"

"Well, you see" Peridot informed Onniks "we Peridots are tasked with jobs that are basically on par with lets say... Earth's equivalent to computers and networking. These limb enhancers here not only allow me to interact with computers with a wireless connection, but also these green rods here can morph into various tools and other things - like this"

As Peridot was giving her explanation on the mechanics of the limb enhancers, she used four of the rods on her right hand to form a square with diagonal corners - similar to the holojector. A mere second later, a holographic screen appeared in the center of the corners of her hand, while the remaining rod interacted with the screen itself like a touch screen on Earth.

"Now... you said that you can connect to computers wirelessly, right?" Onniks asked Peridot.

"That's right - why?"

"Think you can connect to anything in here? Like that Yellow Pearl said earlier - our stones have been scanned and registered in their database. If you can somehow hack that database, then maybe we can get our gems reactivated"

"...I can try, I think" Peridot replied, contemplating Onniks' suggestion. "Homeworld's technology has been undoubtedly advancing since my absence - I'll give it a shot, but I don't know what to expect"

As Peridot was attempting to hack the facility's network, a set of loud footsteps echoed on the other side of the door.

"Shh - everyone down..." Onniks whispered. As they complied, Jasper's unmistakable voice was heard complaining about the incident from before.

"Did I fucking stutter, Jasper?" Jasper sarcastically spoke to herself, mocking the bossy Gem from earlier. "*ugh* What an uber bitch..."

As Onniks continued to listen to Jasper's voice become quieter with each passing second, he placed his hand on the door handle, very gently pulling down on it until the door cracked open unnoticed.

"You sure it's safe to go out there?" Lapis whispered Onniks.

"Nope!" he casually replied as he opened the door further and stepped out of the room.

As he peeked down the hall, he spotted Jasper, casually taking her time walking down the hall with her hands behind her head.

"Here - hold onto this for me, please?" Onniks requested as he handed the rifle to Pearl, who hesitantly accepts.

"What in the Diamond's name are you planning?" Pearl asked.

"Just gonna meet and old friend. Don't worry - I'll be back" Onniks answered her as he carefully stood back up and approahed Jasper.

"*sigh*...That just worries me even more" she replied, placing herself in a kneeling position while aiming the rifle down the hall.

"Yep - it's official" Peridot spoke "He's gonna get us all killed"

"It's been nice knowing all of you" Lapis added. Meanwhile, Onniks had finally caught up to Jasper as he stealthily crept up beside her.

"Man, the boss is a complete dick" Onniks spoke to Jasper, while she unwittingly engaged in the conversation, expecting Onniks to still be caged in the basement cell.

"Tch - tell me about it..."

"And you're probably not getting paid enough to deal with this crap, huh?"

"...Wait... I'm not even getting paid at ALL!" Jasper answered while looking at Onniks, still oblivious about his presence.

"All the more reason you need to bring this up to Yellow Diamond - you think she'll tolerate this kind of treatment to one of her subordinates? Especially as one as faithful and dedicated as you?"

"You know what? You're right! I shouldn't be treated like this! After all the work I had to put in myself, that rickety old hag thinks she can short-hand ME? I'll show her that I'm not some moron to be toyed with! Thanks for the advice, Onniks!"

As Jasper started running off down the hallway towards the large open area, Onniks looked back at the others who were dumbfounded by Jasper's failure to recognize her surroundings, while Onniks himself merely shrugged at the situation. Only a mere moment later, a pair of shoes were head skidding along the floor ahead of them - it was Jasper, who came to a screeching halt. As she idled in her stationary position for a few seconds, she clenched her right fist as she then looked back at Onniks with an expression of eye-twitching hatred, gritting her teeth hard enough that one of her upper teeth cracked in half.

"Grrr... I'll teach you to make a fool of me, you bastard!" Jasper screamed at Onniks.

"Trust me, you don't need me to do that - you're doing a terrific job of it all on your own!"

With her right fist pulled back, she then began to charge at Onniks.

"Time to die, you son of a b-"

CLACK! Ti-ti-ti-ting

Jasper's rush towards Onniks stopped suddenly, as she - for a very brief moment - saw a small section of air streamline as a blinding fast object whizzed past her gem. As she analyzed where the object came from, she traced it back to Pearl - who was aiming directly at her with the rifle Onniks lent her.

"You... might want to slow down a little there, cupcake" Pearl responded

Jasper - still frustrated, yet somewhat calming down, was in demand for some answers.

"And just how the hell did you assholes escape that cell, anyways? With your gems in our computers, you shouldn't been able to use ANY magic"

"You're right - you did scan us..." Onniks replied.

"...But there was one you didn't scan" Pearl added.

Glancing back and forth between Onniks and Pearl a few times, it didn't take Jasper long to figure out who they were referring to.

"...'Her'...You're talking about that monochrome monstrosity, aren't you?"

"You mean Hematite? I happen to think she's a very adorable and charming young lady, thank you!" Onniks answered.

As her anger continued to slowly build back up. Jasper reached at her ponytail and pulled out the tie that was keeping it in place - a pair of white spherical objects that were connected to an elastic band.

"I just don't have time to keep playing around with you lowlifes! HUAH!"

Jasper then threw the hair tie on the ground, causing the white spheres to explode into a thick smokescreen that encompassed both her and Onniks.

*cough cough* "Where the hell did you-"

*thick*

*stomp stomp stomp*

"D'agh! Damn you - let me find you - please!" Onniks yelled while still in the smoke.

"Onniks? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Pearl asked.

"That... big... beefy-bodied butthead poked me in the shoulder with some kind of needle or something"

"It sounded like Jasper also ran off" Lapis replied. "I don't think we're gonna catch up to her"

"*sigh* And my suspicions were correct" Peridot added, returning the green rods back to their original position. "Homeworld's security measures have been upgraded - I can't break through it"

"Thank you for trying, Peridot" Pearl spoke. She then dropped the rifle to the ground and approached the smokescreen, sticking her arms out in front of her as she tried feeling around for Onniks. After a couple seconds of scouring the smoke, her hand had connected to Onniks.

"Huh? Who's there?" he asked.

"It's just me - Pearl. C'mon - let's hurry and get outta here"

Grabbing his hand, Pearl led Onniks through the now thinning smoke and into the main room, with Peridot and Lapis several paces behind. With the main entrance door in their view, they continued on towards the exit.

"*sigh* Finally - we can get out of this nightmare" Pearl replied, sighing in relief.

"Y'know - it's times like this where we end up fighting some epic boss fight in order to leave a dungeon" Onniks jokingly replied. However, Peridot wasn't humored at all by his comment.

"I swear - you jinx it, and I'm comin' right for ya when you sleep!"

As they made their grand exit, they stepped outside and got a clear view of the terrain ahead of them: tall, rocky cliffs to their left in the distance with a small collection of trees on the top, a vast grassy field in the middle, and an extensive shoreline on the far right that seemed to stretch for about a half mile out and curve to the left. As they looked behind them, they caught a view of the building they left, observing that it was several stories taller than anticipated.

On the roof, they heard the sound of engines powering up. as the group inspected the roof closer, they caught a glimpse of a black jet-like aircraft with yellow squares on the wings hovering in the air briefly, then taking of in an instant.

"*sigh* There goes Jasper..." Pearl moaned.

"Not to mention that other freakishly huge Gem as well" Lapis added.

"No doubt we'll see her again" Onniks spoke. "She seems to be the type who never leaves things unsettled"

"At any rate, we need to find a way out of here, and I don't remember seeing a warp pad at all when we got here" Peridot replied.

"They had me blindfolded all the way until we entered here - I don't have a clue, either" Pearl commented.

"Hold on tight for a few minutes - I'll get a bird's-eye view of here and see if I can spot anything" Lapis offered.

"Understood - let us know what you find" Pearl replied.

With her wings fully expanded, a hefty gust of wind picked Lapis up by her wings as she leapt in the air for an extra boost of speed. Within a few short seconds, she had now become a small blue speck as she continued to increase her altitude. She then headed towards the direction of the cliffs, where she disappeared form everyone's field of vision. After about a minute of waiting, Lapis had returned, slowly gliding along the grassy field towards the rest of the group, where she came to a complete stop and retracted her wings.

"So - what did you find out?" Pearl asked.

"Welp, it's official" Lapis moaned, "We are - in fact - stranded in an island. Can't even see the lighthouse anywhere"

"We're pretty far out in the sea, it appears. Did you happen to see anything that was out of the ordinary while you were airborne? A warp pad or anything?"

"Nope, no warp pad - not from the sky, at least. I did see a rather large bird's nest in the cliffs, though"

"A bird's nest? That's... rather odd, especially being way out here"

"I say we check it out" Onniks replied "Sticking around here isn't accomplishing anything, and there just might be something where that nest is. Besides - we may get lucky and find a warp pad on the way"

With everyone in agreement, they began their trek across the grassy field towards the cliffs in the distance, hoping to find a way off the island. As they made it through about one quarter of the way through the field, Onniks became slightly distracted by a shadow whizzing by on the ground below him.

(Huh? What was that...?) he thought to himself as he looked up into the sky, taking note of anything that may have caused the shadow - but nothing was there.

"What's up? Something wrong?" Pearl asked, seeing Onniks stare at the sky.

"Huh? Oh - nothing. Just thought I saw a shadow is all. Let's keep moving"

The group managed to only take several steps further through the field when they were then alerted by an unknown presence that seemed to land right behind them.

eeeerrrRRRAAAAUUUUWW!

A hard, gusty breeze blew against the backs of the Gems, followed by a sharp, ear-piercing screech, forcing Onniks to irritably turn around and confront the source of the distraction.

"Now, just what do you think's the big idea-huh?" Onniks attempted to threaten, however it resulted in failure as he was stopped - by a wall of leathery flesh.

From a close-up perspective, Onniks got a more detailed view of what he observed: Standing at about twenty-two feet tall, it had a pair of clawed. chicken-like feet, a narrow body, a set of hide wings with talon-bearing hands at the ends, and an elongated head with a hook-shaped beak.

Shocked to the point where they were no longer surprised, the group just stood there, staring at the creature completely emotionless.

"Is... is that what I think it is?" Onniks asked.

"Eeeyeaaap" Lapis replied, unamused.

"It's definitely - a pterodactyl" Pearl commented.

"So - any plans on dealing with this thing?" Lapis inquired, to which left an opening to one of Onniks' sarcastic replies.

"...I'm gonna capture it - and name it 'Sprinkles"

"You are most certainly NOT taking that thing home with us" Pearl informed Onniks.

"But why not?" he complained. "It's not every day you run into a prehistoric animal, after all"

Peridot then casually approached Onniks and placed her hands on his shoulders, waiting for a few seconds as she gathered her thoughts.

"...THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU BASTAAAARD!" she screamed, shaking him profusely while still clenched at his shoulders. Onniks then responded similarly in kind, merely grabbing onto her shirt.

"How the hell is it MY fault!?"

Confused by their behavior, the pterodactyl stepped back several paces, observing it's prey's internal hostility.

"If you hadn't said anything about a 'boss fight' earlier" Peridot continued "we wouldn't have to be actually fighting one!"

"If I knew that there'd be a real-life frickin' DINOSAUR around here, I wouldn't have said anything in the first place!"

"Will you two knock that off!?" Pearl intervened, causing both of them to release each other and step away.

"Tch - you're lucky Pearl's here to save you, meat-clod" Peridot spoke.

"Whatever - let's just get this over with"

As Onniks reached for his gem to summon his weapon, his efforts to do so had become useless as his abilities sill weren't active.

"The hell? I still can't use my abilities - can that facility's frequency reach this far out?"

The acient bird - growing more impatient with each passing second - stuck its head out towards everyone with it's mouth wide open, attempting to reach for its midday snack.

eeeRRAAAWW-

wwwhhoooOOOO - C-C-C-CRRRGGGHHH!!

An unexpected object shot down from the sky and crashed down on the pterodactyl's head, disintegrating it into a dark red paste - instantly killing it on impact. The shockwave that ran from the fallen object and into the ground rumbled the immediate area, forcing the group to fall off their feet, though uninjured. They then returned to their feet, then ran over to investigate the cause of the accident.

"No! Sprinkles!" Onniks cried out as he ran towards the lifeless animal, while Pearl examined the crater that was created by the falling object. There she saw - splattered in both blood and brain matter from the deceased dino - a translucent, light pink spherical orb.

(Wait - is that...?) she thought to herself, grabbing the ball and wiping the bloody remains on the grass. inside the ball, she found a familiar sphere - the same one that Garnet had pummeled into the atmosphere yesterday.

"Thank you Garnet!" Pearl spoke out loud as she unbubbled the ball and removed the green capsule she invented, along with the note that Garnet had shoved in. As Pearl unfolded the paper, she found a very short message written on it:

"Told you that you'd thank me for this!

-Garnet"

"Damn her!" Pearl complained as she crunched up the paper in her fist "She's always three steps ahead!"

"Yeah - hey, Pearl?" Lapis spoke, trying to get her attention "You... might wanna look at this"

As Pearl looked at Lapis, she followed her line of sight to what she was witnessing: The remains of the downed bird was inexplicably deteriorating from front to back with the visual effects to that of bluish-white pixellations of a computer screen, removing every square inch of biological matter. All that remained was the few pieces of the skeleton - and a clear, palm-sized crystal ball with a yellow center that briefly pulsated a blue field, which then stopped after several seconds. Shortly after, the yellow center had darkened in color, presuming itself to be inactive.

"What in the hell...?" Pearl questioned as she witnessed the scene. She then retrieved the ball and tried to analyze it a bit further.

"You tellin' me that this Yellow Diamond has the technology to resurrect fossils into restored beings?" Onniks asked.

"I... I don't think so. Remember Jasper mentioned earlier that this 'Experiment Sixteen-Beta' was just that - an experiment. They might have the idea, but I don't think they have the technology perfected yet"

"Pearl? I'm not sure if you noticed" Lapis commented "but that beastly birdie just tried to make us all its dinner - me? I'd say that they have the tech pretty well perfected"

"And what about the facility we left?" Onniks asked. "If they're researching stuff like this, then we can't just leave it as it is - we gotta destroy it"

"As much as I'm inclined to agree with you - we still don't know what they have in there. And if we were to just blow the entire building to smithereens, it very well could do more harm than good"

"What do you propose we do?"

"We'll just have to leave it for now. Granted, we might not be able to find a way back here, but I doubt that Jasper and that other Gem will return here - not when we're running loose"

"But there's still the matter of getting off this island" Peridot reminded.

"Actually, I have that taken care of - with this" Pearl replied as she put the green capsule on display.

"How in the world is THAT gonna help?"

"Observe, and marvel"

With the capsule between her fingertips, Pearl throws it against one of the bones of the leftover bird, causing the spark needed to ignite and expand the material inside the capsule and create the warp pad.

"Okay, but seriously - that - is cool" Lapis complimented.

"How do we even know if that thing works?" Peridot asked.

"Well, you're more than welcome to remain stranded here on this remote island if it does" Pearl answered.

"....

...Okay, move over - let me on!"

With that said, the gang then gathered on the warp pad - which was guided by Pearl - where they were then teleported safely back to the Temple. The living room was completely silent: nobody seemed to be home.

"Wonder if everybody's outside" spoke Onniks.

"It's very likely" Pearl replied. "We do try to keep Steven active whenever possible"

"Let's go and check - make sure nothing's happened when we were gone"

While Lapis and Peridot remained inside and relaxed on the couch, Onniks and Pearl headed outside onto the patio. From there, that's where they saw both Garnet and Steven on the beach sitting back on a pair of lawn chairs.

(I wonder...) Onniks thought to himelf while staring at his hand. As he extended it out along the patio, the gem magic that was used to create his signature portal had been released, causing said portal to once again appear in front of him. The opposite side of the portal that he conjured had lead to the side of Garnet - roughly five feet away.

(Yeeesss - about time!) Onniks thought to himself, satisfied about the return of his abilities, along with Pearl's, Lapis', and Peridot's as well.

"Aaand... ally-oop!" said Onniks as he stepped through the portal.

"And, we just squeeze through here, and... there we go!" Pearl replied, squirming through the portal behind him.

"There you guys are!" Garnet spoke, as if she was expecting Onniks and Pearl to arrive through the portal. "Amethyst told me what happened at the store last night - what exactly happened?"

"Oooh, have we got a tale to tell for you..."

Pearl explained the events that transpired over the previous hours, while Garnet and Steven hung on every word, and Onniks casually stood by, remembering every moment that Pearl described. Not a single detail was skipped as Pearl told about her experience - from their initial capture to their escape from the cell, about Jasper and the mysterious Gem, and the facility and the experiments that were conducted.

When Pearl finished, Garnet felt it necessary to explain the event that were held at the house as well, regarding the squad of mercenaries that were dispatched, along with the giant, man-made anti-gem robot that attacked. However, she - under orders from Jette - didn't mention a word about her arrival, or her assistance in the defeat of the robot.

"Are you freakin' kidding me!?" Onniks exclaimed. "They attacked here, knowing that there'd be children here? They didn't hurt them, did they?"

"We're fine, Onniks - see?" Steven replied, flailing his hands around lightly to get Onniks' attention. "I know you're worried about us, and that's understandable, but don't forget - we also have Garnet and Amethyst and Shade protecting us as well"

"*uugghhh* All this craziness today is driving me bonkers" Onniks replied, rubbing his forehead out of stress. "But yes, you are right about that... By the way, where ARE Connie and Shade, anyways? I didn't see them in the house anywhere"

"Well, I know Connie went home just a couple hours ago, but I'm not sure about Shade" Steven answered, followed by Garnet who finished answering Onniks' question.

"Amethyst is currently walking with her around the town, so that way she can get used to the area"

"I suppose that makes sense"

"And what about you? Got any plans later?"

"Me, personally - I'm not gonna be ale to relax knowing that Jasper's still running around freely while she could come back at any time, so I'm just gonna camp out here for a day or two to make sure she doesn't show back up"

"I'll stay out here with you also - 'strength in numbers', after all" Pearl replied, which Onniks agreed with.

"Understood. Amethyst and I will keep an eye on everything inside, then. Where are Peridot and Lapis, by the way? I'm sure they might help as well"

"They're both inside relaxing on the couch, last I seen"

"Very well. Steven - let's go back inside for a while until all this blows over"

"Yeah - I think you're right, Garnet" Steven spoke. "If there's a new Gem that's bigger and stronger than Jasper, odds are I wouldn't wanna just rush in and try to fight it"

"Well said, Steven!" Garnet praised while rubbing his curly hair proudly "Now c'mon - it's almost time for dinner"

As Garnet and Steven stood up, they folded their lawn chairs up and carried them back into the house, leaving Onniks and Pearl alone on the beach.

"So - where do you wanna camp out at?" Pearl asked.

"Well, the cave's too small for me, you, AND Shade - we'll all be crowded in there, so you and I'll use the spare room"

"The 'spare' room?"

"Y'know, the Homeworld-designed one that we took the TV and bed frame from?"

"...Oh! Yes - that one!"

Onniks then stepped about ten feet to the left of Shade's room, giving Onniks plenty of space to place the door to the room against the cliff side. Drawing a red 'T'-shaped outline, the door to the room spit in two halves as they opened away from each other, leaving just enough space to squeeze through. Once Onniks and Pearl were through, Onniks then closed the doors enough to leave just a crack open in case they needed to hear anything happening outside. As both Onniks and Pearl laid next to each other on the bed, thus started their wait for any sign of commotion.


	35. Reunion

Many hours had passed since Onniks and Pearl stood guard inside the room, and not a single peep was heard outside. A minute sense of impatience trickled down Onniks' spine, forcing him to spring up from the bed and start pacing around the room.

"...I just don't get it" Onniks nervously spoke. "You'd figure that with all the commotion we caused back at that facility, that there woulda been someone after us by now"

Pearl then leaned up and sat on the edge of the bed, reacting to Onniks' uneasiness as she replied to him.

"True, but you also have to realize - we weren't the only ones there. It's most likely that Jasper and that other mysterious Gem decided to chase after them"

"...Or ran away from them"

"That's also a possibility. There was a lot of aftermath from whatever it was that infiltrated the facility - it wouldn't surprise me if they ordered a retreat"

As Onniks and Pearl contemplated on Jasper's uncertain arrival, Onniks heard the sound of footsteps sifting through the sand on the beach just beyond the crack in the doorway he left open to his room earlier. Turning to Pearl, he put a finger on his lips, signaling her to keep quiet, then waved to her in a manner that signaled to her to approach him. As she hopped off the bed, she quietly closed in on him, trying to listen to what Onniks was trying to investigate.

"Hey, Lapis? You busy?" One of the voices spoke, which happened to be Peridot's.

"Uh, no - what's up?" Lapis asked.

"If you don't mind, I wanna talk about what happened back at that building earlier. The prison cell, specifically"

"Oh, that? Man, those were some bars, weren't they? I can't believe how sturdy they were, heh heh heh..." Lapis hesitantly replied as she tried to change the subject knowing what Peridot wanted to discuss.

"*sigh* Lapis, what did you mean by what you said back there?"

"What do you mean 'What do I mean'?"

"I mean what were you talking about when the subject of my powers - or lack of - were brought up? Why did you sound so eager to help bring them out?"

"It's... complicated..."

"It can't be THAT complicated - just tell me what's on your mind"

"I just... can't, Peridot - not now. I'm just not ready..."

"I think I know why" Peridot spoke. "It may be because we have prying eyes distracting you such as ONNIKS I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! I CAN SEE THE RED OUTLINE TO THAT ROOM--"

Peridot's shouting was immediately silence as Onniks clapped his hands together and closed the door to the room the rest of they way.

"...Mmmaybe we should let those kids have some privacy, shall we?" Onniks asked.

"Hmhmh - I think that may be for the best" Pearl answered.

Onniks then returned to the large bed and laid back down on it as the late-night fatigue began to catch up to him.

"...They're not gonna show up - are they?" he asked.

"It doesn't seem so" Pearl answered as she returned to the bed as well, sitting next to Onniks' legs. "Maybe we should go back inside, if that's the case"

"Actually, I got something else in mind" Onniks replied, which caused Pearl too look at him questionably.

Onniks then leaned back up and grabbed Pearl under her arms and pulled her close to him as he guided the both of them backwards onto the bed. Pearl then embarrassingly gazed into Onniks' blue eyes, while he stared back at her with a comforting smile.

"O-Onniks? What - mmmf" Pearl tried to ask, but was overtaken by a sudden kiss from Onniks as he slowly slid his hands from her arms to the small of her back.

"Sorry, Pearl, it's just..." Onniks spoke as he gently caressed her back "...Do you realize that this is the first time that we're actually able to have some time just to ourselves for once?"

Pearl, contemplating on his words, realized that he was correct - this was the first time that they were able to spend alone together. Smirking deviously, she then grabbed a handful of the sheets next to them and tossed it over themselves, hiding their entire bodies.

"Then let's make the most of it" Pearl replied, as she locked onto Onniks' lips with her own as the night continued to pass before them.

\------------------------------------------------------

"....."

"Psst - hey..."

Onniks woke up halfway to the movement of his foot being nudged.

"*yaaaawn*....Yeah?"

"Hey - can you pass over some of them sheets? It's kinda cold in here"

Onniks then lazily threw the sheets he had to the side.

"Hey, thanks!"

"No prob...." Onniks replied as he tried to return to sleep, with his head cocked to his right. Moments later. Pearl felt Onniks' movement and groggily woken halfway, with her right cheek pressed against his left.

"Onniks - who did you just give those sheets to?" she asked with minimal effort.

"You, of course - who else?" Onniks answered in a tired tone.

"That's impossible - how can you throw the sheets to me to the side if I'm still laying on top of you?"

"..."

"..."

".....!"

Both Onniks and Pearl's eyes shot wide open as they both had an instant moment of realization. They both then slowly faced each other, assessing the situation.

"...If... I'm here..." Pearl stated.

"...Then who was...?" Onniks added.

As they quickly looked towards the inside of the bed, that's when they saw who it was that spoke: a rather large female humanoid face that had a light gray complexion, with long black hair and an eyepatch over her left eye. 

Their bedmate was Jette - the former Diamond that confronted the Gems a short time ago. She was laying on the bed in the same direction as Onniks and Pearl, looking dead at them.

"WAKE UP, BOY!" Jette shouted, deliberately startling Onniks and Pearl simultaneously and caused them to tumble over each other as they rolled off the bed.

"Shit!/Holy-/Goddamn-/Sonofa-/What the-?" Onniks and Pearl respectively spoke over each other as they frantically toppled over each other tryting to stand back up, with Pearl using the holojector stand to hoist herself back up as they both spawned their weapons and pointed them at the unidentified intruder.

As they regained their footing, a semi- high pitched laughter was heard from the top bunk of the bed. The two looked up and spotted Shade, sitting upright on the bed with her feet dangling over the frame and her face buried in her hands.

"Man, were you two spooked!" she replied, mocking Onniks and Pearl's startled state.

"Wait... Shade?" Onniks inquired, taking his attention away from Jette and onto her. "What... how'd you get in here? This room's supposed to be impenetrable" he continued. 

As he was speaking, Jette formed herself into a black mist and drifted away from the bed and reformed herself into a version of her previous self that was taller than an average human at the other end of the table. Meanwhile, Shade grabbed hold of the frame that she was resting on and proceeded to lean over, tucking her knees close to her chest as she rolled forward and repositioned herself to where she was able to extend her legs downward and let go of the frame, safely dropping to the floor and approached Onniks. Pearl, however, kept her attention focused on Jette. As he continued to analyze her, a sense of deja vu flashed in Pearl's mind.

(...Where've I seen her before?) she thought to herself, glancing downward as she tried to recollect her memories. As she did, she spotted the white envelope on the stand that Onniks had placed a few days ago. (Wait a second - that envelope...) she continued to think to herself. Despawning her weapon, she secured the envelope and pulled out the brown folder, opening it to the picture of the woman laying on the hospital bed.

"...! *gasp* Onniks - look at this" Pearl spoke, handing the folder to him as she kept her eyes on her.

As he grabbed the folder, he closely examined the photo of the woman. 

".....!"

He then lowered the folder and focused his attention towards Jette.

"Wait... You're..." he spoke, despawning his weapon while his eyes began to water as he stepped closer to her, and sadness started filling his emotions.

"Sure is taking you long enough to figure it out, boy" Jette said, smirking as she cocked her body to the side and folded her arms around her waist.

Shade then quietly approached Pearl, wanting to discuss about Onniks.

"I... I don't get it" she whispered to Pearl. "It's been such a long time - he should be happy to see her"

"Onniks... can be stubborn sometimes" Pearl replied. "Sometimes he just needs a little push in the right direction"

"What do you mean?"

Donning a slightly devious smile, Pearl walked over to Onniks and placed her hand on his back, shoving him towards Jette. Tumbling along the way, he collided with her and grasped the front of her shirt, trying to slow himself down. As both mother and son gazed at each other, Jette began combing Onniks' hair with her fingers with a warming expression, while Onniks' sadness continued to consume him.

There were no words that he was able to form; instead, he pressed his face onto her abdomen as he forcefully muffled his now full-blown sobbing, clenching harder onto Jette's shirt as he curled his legs, slowly falling to his knees. Jette then guided him down, placing her free hand around his back as she lowered herself with Onniks onto the floor, curling her legs under her to the side - still running her fingers through his hair as he continued to hide his crying with his face still smushed in her shirt.

Jette then removed the hand that was Onniks' back and conjured a small red ball between her fingertips and placed it on the ground an arm's distance away from her. The ball then stretched itself vertically several feet, which then spit itself in half - revealing an exit that led to the living room of the beach house.

"Pearl" Jette spoke, unintentionally gaining the attention of both girls.

"Yes?/Y-yes?" both Shade and Pearl answered respectively as they both stood at attention with their arms crossed in front of their faces, forming a diamond-shaped figure at their wrists.

"Sorry - MY Pearl" Jette corrected herself. Shade then approached Jette, while Pearl shied away.

"Yes, My Diamond?" she responded.

"Gather everyone else, please" Jette requested. "Have them all meet us in the house"

"As you wish" Shade replied, then ran out of the exit and towards the house.

While Shade was out completing her assigned task, Jette took notice of Pearl, who was still standing at attention, discretely jittering nervously as she was in the presence of an assumed Diamond.

"*sigh*... You don't have to stand like that, you know?" Jette informed Pearl. "I'm not your Diamond. Hell - I don't even have Diamond status anymore"

"T-thank you" Pearl spoke as she lowered her arms and relaxed a little. "But if you're not a Diamond, then why did Your Pearl..."

"Call me 'Diamond'? I already told her about Onniks - about how I sacrificed half of my power to birth him - I told her she could still call me that since it's a habit for her to do so"

"But... how is that possible?" Pearl asked as she sat on the bed pondering Jette's statement. "I've seen a Gem sacrifice herself to birth a human once - she..."

"You must be talking about that child - the one with the Rose Quartz gem on his navel?"

"Y-yes, ma'am - Steven"

Onniks at this point had cried himself to sleep. He fidgeted a little with his face now nestled on Jette's lap.

"I see. Tell you what" Jet replied, as she took another look at the sound asleep Onniks, now removing her hand off his head "I'll answer that question once he shows up - I'm sure the both of you are gonna want an answer for that"

About a half hour passed by, and Onniks had woken up from his nap. As he looked around, he had now found himself once again on Steven's bed on the upstairs section of the house. When he climbed out of the bed, he looked over to the lower part of the house and spotted all the Gems gathered in the front room, with Jette and Shade sitting at the coffee table near the kitchen. The only thing that seemed out of place was the markerboard that was placed in front of the holojector. As he walked down the stairs and into the living room, he was greeted by a sarcastic Amethyst, who was sitting on the chair furthest away from the staircase.

"Wakey-wakey, sunshine!" she replied as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Have a nice nap?"

"Tch-man, whatever" Onniks replied with a dreary tone; his eyes reddened as if he had a lack of sleep.

As he scanned the room further, he noticed that the table in front of the couch had been set to the side, while Steven, Lapis and Peridot took its place for the time being. On the couch were Pearl and Garnet, with an open spot between them.

"Over here - we saved you a spot" Pearl spoke as she patted on the cushion next to her. Onniks gave a tired smile and shimmied his way past Lapis and took his spot close to Pearl, where they locked hands together while Onniks rested his head on her shoulder. As he looked back at Jette waiting for her speech, he noticed a familiar glass tube with a silvery object inside it sitting on the floor next to her.

"Wait a second" Onniks spoke "That sword... Isn't that the one that was in the Homeworld bedroom?"

Listening to Onniks identify the sword, Jette picked up the cylinder and held it up for Onniks to see more closely.

"You're talking about this, right?" she asked. Jette then twisted the chrome end that was near the handle of the sword several times, then gave it a good tug, removing the sword from its container safely. "I'm surprised you've been using the shadowcloned version - I woulda figured you would've been using the real one, since you went through the trouble of cloning it"

"Shadow... clone?" Onniks asked. "I've been calling it shadow copy - whatever works, I guess. Anyways, that sword has a lot of sentimental value to me, so I didn't want to risk ruining it"

"Pfft - 'ruin' it? HA! This thing's made from one hundred percent starmetal - you couldn't even put a scratch on Schism - watch! Garnet - c'mere for a sec, will ya?"

Garnet then got up and and stood in front of Jette as ordered, awaiting Jette's command.

"Got a special test for ya" Jette spoke to Garnet as she held the sword by the hilt and repeatedly slapped the blade in her opposing palm. "A test of strength, if you will"

"Now that's MY kinda test!" Garnet replied, gleefully smiling as she instantly summoned her gauntlets.

"Here - hold onto this" Jette spoke as she handed the sword over to Garnet. "See if you can bend it"

Garnet then kneeled down on one knee and placed the sword on top of the other, then proceeded to push down on both sides of the weapon as hard as she possibly could. However, no matter how much downward force she applied to the sword, it simply wouldn't budge one bit. Acknowledging her defeat, she then returned the weapon back to Jette and sat back down at her spot on the couch. As Jette held onto the sword with both hands, it turned into a white light, which then slowly disappeared from the tip of the sword to the hilt in the form of scattering pixels.

"Now, before I begin" Jette stated to everyone "I just wanna say that while there's a lot of questions that need to be answered, there's alos something that I need to say first - mainly to Onniks and My Pearl"

Shade, hearing Jette mention her name, rotated the stool she was sitting on and faced Jette, tucking her feet behind the bars on the stool and waited in anticipation. Meanwhile, Onniks, still suffering from acute drowsiness, tried to shake it off as he tried to listen closely.

"Now - I already told My Pearl that I'd give you both an explanation of my absence once you two are together" Jette spoke "because I pretty much owe you both the same reason"

Jette then laced her fingers together with her index fingers extended, placing them on her lips with her thumbs under her chin as she gathered her thoughts to try to give a proper explanation.

"....

Right now, you're both are probably thinking I left you behind because I was being selfish, but... That's not the case.

The truth is... I was afraid. Afraid of losing the both of you.

I didn't want either of you to get involved in my affairs, so I had to leave the both of you in places where I knew you'd remain safe"


	36. Opening Old Wounds

"But that doesn't make sense, My Diamond" Shade replied. "I've been with you since the beginning of the Rebellion, so I knew what to expect"

"And you know there's no way I would've allowed it" Jette chimed in. "I care too much about the both of you to risk getting either of you involved to the point where your very lives were at stake"

As Onniks sat by listening to his mother's explanation about Shade, he also couldn't help but wonder what was in store for him.

"But... what about me?" he asked. "How did I come into play about all this?"

Jette then shifted her attention to him, hooking her feet on the bars of the stool as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

"...*sigh*

...I... After I dropped Pearl off, I spent a lot of time hopping from one planet to the next, hitchhiking in cargo shuttles and hiding in shadows trying to avoid the Authority's forces - the further I got away from them, the less they seemed to chase me. Eventually I wound up here, on Earth about thirty years ago where the Diamond's forces were practically non-existent. The last thing I wanted to do here was cause more panic among the locals - what with my originally immense size and all - so I had to maintain a smaller form that was more suitable to everyone. I.. ended up hooking up with this one guy over on the west coast for a good while..."

Jette then began to blush a little as she reminisced about the human that she was apparently fond of.

"Heh... Seth Nellsen was his name... He was just another punk kid in a garage band at his friend's house that was pretty decent on an electric guitar. However, he... had this... soft side to him, compared to his headbanger friends.Things were going pretty smooth for a couple years, until one day they began to accuse him of his 'softness' because of my influence, which caused them to kick him out of the band"

"Don't tell me you actually let 'em get away with that, ma'am" Lapis replied.

"What? Pfft - oh hell no, I didn't. See - later that afternoon after that argument, as Seth and I were packing up some stuff in his car, I told him that I 'forgot something' in his ex-friend's garage, so when I wen't back there, I kicked the dog crap outta them and trashed their equipment. When I went back to the car, I simply told Seth that it turned out that I was mistaken and then we left.

...*sigh* But anyways, continuing on...

We took off from there all the way east and crashed at his sister's house for a while until we were able to get off our feet - ended up staying there longer than expected. His sister...she was... well... to put it lightly, she was a lunatic - overly religious, kept an eye on me the whole time we were there while Seth ended up taking up some side jobs at a couple of night clubs as a solo act to try to make some extra money. She didn't trust me in the slightest - said that there was something... 'abnormal' about me..."

As Jette was talking about her past, Onniks had a quick memory of his childhood that was triggered off when Jette mentioned about her old flame's sister being 'overly religious'.

(Sounds like my aunt I used to stay with when I was younger) he thought to himself. (But hearing all of this... this is starting to sound too coincidental - better keep listening to get all the details)

"...At first, she thought that this eyepatch of mine was just for show - until I took it off and showed her the gemstone that I keep hidden behind it"

As she said that, she then removed her eyepatch and showed everyone her gem that was embedded in her eye socket - a spherical, pitch black stone that had a triangular, multi-faceted design to it. After a few seconds, she then reset the eyepatch back in front of her gemstone and continued speaking.

"Oh - and before you ask - yes, My Pearl's gem is the same way - it's a common feature you see between Diamonds and Pearls. Anyways...

The sister thought I was making the whole thing up - that my gemstone was just nothing more than a fancy-designed glass eye. So, to prove her wrong once and for all, I summoned my sword by projecting it directly out of my gem and held the blade against her lanky neck...

....Yeeaahhh.... She never trusted me after that ever since. Lucky for us though, Seth hooked up with a cover band at a popular club that was down a lead guitarist because the original lead tried to pop his car trunk with a screwdriver and cut his hand - ended up scoring enough cash that night to move out of his sister's house and into an apartment of our own. We were there for maybe a year and a half, when his band signed a contract to a developing recording producer and sold their first album for a pretty penny. The band that night partied most of their money away that night - except for Seth. He really didn't care about that kinda lifestyle - he was just happy being with me. We, uh... Let's just say that 'making love' was an understatement that night"

Jette couldn't help but blush harder as she remembered the intimate positions she and her ex-boyfriend were engaged in.

"Because of that night, we... ended up getting pregnant - which was scarier for me than it was for Seth, seeing as how, you know, Gems at that time had no knowledge on how anything worked in regards to birthing a biological child"

"...What were you feeling during your pregnancy experience, ma'am?" Pearl inquired. "Surely it must've been a joyous occasion"

"*sigh*... Actually... I was scared" Jette answered somberly. "I could literally feel the power and magic of my gem being siphoned right out of it and collect at the fetus... I studied up on Earth pregnancies and learned that the offspring inherits half of the dominant traits of both parents.

At first I was terrified, knowing that half of my magic had been lost and replaced into my unborn child, yet...

...I was happy as well. Happy that what was developing inside me was nothing short of a miracle that was created by Seth and I"

Jette put on a warm smile as she talked about her previous childbirth, gently clenching on her abdomen while cycling through her memories. However,a moment later, her emotions immediately took a one hundred eighty degree turn as she had suddenly remembered something tragic.

"...One night, I was about seven months pregnant, and Seth and I...

...We were walking home from a convenience store that was close by the apartment...

Then someone jumped out from an alley wearing a black trench coat and hat, brandishing a unique-looking dagger - one that was blood red in color. They tried coming after me first. Seth tried to stop them, but..."

As Jette continued to tell her story, the tears that ran down her cheek glistened as the light from the living room reflected off its trail, while Jette's speech stuttered slightly as the pain from the memory took a slight toll on her.

"...*sniff* He was overpowered by the mugger - thrown against the wall of the building we were standing by and stabbed him in the heart...

...He... died instantly. Didn't even have enough time to speak his last words...

Some woman across the street witnessed the attack and screamed for the police and paramedics, which scared the attacker away, however as they fled, I was able to get a glimpse of the face - red-tinted skin, and a Ruby-shaped gem on their right cheek.

All... All I could do was sit there and hold Seth in my arms, bawling my eye out waiting for the ambulance to show up. Even more, the stress that I put myself through forced me to go into premature labor two months early. The delivery took about six hours to complete.

My sadness for losing Seth turned into hatred and vengeance. I didn't even bother outprocessing from the hospital - I just took my child and left. The first place I went to after I left the hospital was Melanie's house. She.. wasn't happy to see me in the slightest - blamed me for Seth's death, which was partially true. If I hadn't stopped at this planet, Seth would still.."

(Wait - Melanie? You mean Aunt Mellie?) Onniks thought to himself, hearing the name mentioned (Don't tell me that...!)

"...Anyways I requested that she watch the newborn while I leave the area - the last thing I wanted was another innocent death on my hands. I gave Melanie my sword to pass onto the child during my absence should anything decide to show up unannounced. Naturally, she was reluctant to take such a weapon, but seeing the kind of being I am and the situation that was occurring, she really couldn't refuse. After I said my goodbyes, I fled the area and left behind another one I cared about, hoping to lure the enemies away and have them chase me instead"

Everyone in the area sat in silence, trying their hardest to hold their tears back as they absorbed every word and feeling that Jette broadcasted. Onniks, however, remained speechless - nearly dumbfounded - as his thoughts couldn't reach his mouth and communicate his feelings.

"I...I-I'm sorry, I didn't... It's just... Aunt Mellie, she.... didn't tell me anything..." he replied, slightly stuttering as he tried to seemingly express his feelings all at once.

"Good - she did exactly as she was supposed to" Jette replied. "Well - for the most part, anyways. If she woulda kept you at her house just a bit longer, I doubt you woulda had so many close calls"

"Close calls? Wait - how do you know about those?"

"Because - I've been trailing you off and on in the shadows ever since you came into town. Actually, a bit before that - when you left Melanie's place"

"The whole time? Was that you that infiltrated that facility a couple days ago"

"'RD-Three - yep, that was Pearl and I"

"RD-Three?"

"Research and Development - Yellow Diamond has one on each planet in this solar system. They call the one on Earth 'RD-Three' since Earth is the third planet from the Sun"

As Jette reflected back during that particular incident, she placed her right hand on her face while supporting it up with her elbow on the table as she started chuckling heartily.

"Hehehe... And the way you trolled that Jasper - genius! Pure genius! I can't believe she fell for that hook, line and sinker! I mean - I know Jaspers aren't the brightest light bulb in the box, but that one took the cake...You inherited that personality trait from me, kiddo - don't forget that"

While the topic of the facility was still being discussed, Pearl was wondering about the Gem that they nearly ran into there.

"Excuse me - ma'am?" Pearl spoke. "By any chance you wouldn't happen to know about that large Gem in there, would you? The one that was really tall and yellow-ish-orange?"

"Uuughh... You must mean Topaz" Jette answered dreadfully. "She's the head honcho of the R and D facilities in this system. Yeah, she can pack a punch if she needed to, but most of the time she's just a bitch of epic proportions"

"Ma'am - while I know I'm in no place to give you orders" Garnet spoke to Jette "I would like to request you to refrain from using such language in front of Steven. We're just trying-"

"Garnet?" Steven addressed "....No. It's alright"

"...Steven?" she replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"I can't be sheltered all my life. I'm sure even you know that"

"*sigh*... I do"

"I mean - I understand that you're all trying to make sure that I preserve my innocence and all, but the reality is that some things just happen - whether intentionally or on accident. And besides - they're just words - and they only have as much impact as you allow them to have"

Garnet - impressed by Steven's wisdom - got up from her chair and sat next to him on the floor, rubbing his hair as she spoke to him.

"I must say - I'm really impressed by how mature you've been becoming"

"About that Topaz chick" Onniks continued the subject "we saw her and Jasper take off in an aircraft from RD-Three - any idea where they went?"

"Nope. Don't care, either, so long as they aren't around here"

"But what if they DO decide to show back up?" Lapis asked.

"Easy - we'll deal with them then. Stop acting like they're invincible - they're not"

"There's one more thing I'd like to know" Onniks spoke as he attempted to somewhat change the topic "If you were around as long as you said, then do you know anything about this being who called himself 'Siddian'?"

Jette leaned back against the table, with her elbows supporting her up as she went through her memories regarding that particular night.

"Heh - yeah, I remember - watched the whole thing go down" she replied, bearing a devious grin "Even remember that fusion Hematite you and Pearl made - what a definite hottie! I swear, if you weren't my son, I'd probably be flirting with her right now"

While Shade turned and faced away from Jette in embarrassment, Pearl crunched her knees against her chest on the couch with her arms on them and attempted to bury her blue blushing face, while Onniks slowly slid off the cushion he was sitting on and sat on the floor, pulling his shirt over his head in a poor attempt at utilizing camouflage. Meanwhile, the other Gems were staring at both Pearl and Onniks in the same expression that Jette had.

A moment later, Jette's expression changed as she continued to answer Onniks' question.

"But yeah. Siddian. I know him - and where he came from is one of the things I'm here to explain. Now - turn your attention over to that markerboard over there and we'll get started"


	37. The Start Of It All

Jette picked up a black, felt-tipped marker from the ledge of the markerboard and drew an angled square at the bottom of the board, then divided the square into four smaller ones with an 'X' shaped mark inside it. As she reached inside a medium-sized box sitting next to the board, she pulled out three more markers then used them to make a yellow, blue, and pink scribble inside the squares in a pattern that the Gems could recognize.

"This symbol represents the Diamond Authority - correct?" Jette asked everyone, to which they nodded in agreement. Once they confirmed her question, Jette then proceeded to draw on the board once again.

She drew a huge 'X' above the symbol she made, with a hollow square in the center. Afterwards, she then hastily drew three more symbols in the open areas of the 'X' and scribbled them in different colors, except for the top symbol - which she intentionally left blank.

On the left side, she drew a red square, with purple and light blue squares under it, and an orange one at the bottom.

While on the right, she drew a black square on top, a green square with a dark blue one next to it, and a light yellow one at the bottom. Next to the black square, she drew an arrow pointing at it with 'ME' written by it, followed by a smiley face.

"This illustration is a more accurate - albeit still incomplete - representation of the actual extent of the Diamond Authority" Jette spoke, which left the entire room gawking and speechless.

"I... we never knew anything about all of this" Pearl stated. "Rose never mentioned a word about it"

"That's because Quartzes and Pearls weren't supposed to know - they're mainly created to follow the direct orders of their assigned Diamonds - no offense to anyone here. Let's continue"

Jette then drew the outline of a diamond-shaped figure using dashed lines in the center of the diagram.

"Everything started tens of thousands of years ago with the arrival of a very special Gem, who was born with an immaculately translucent body that reflected all the colors of the rainbow when light shone through it at jsut the right angle. She had traveled all of space for so long, that she had forgotten all about where she had came from - as well as where she was going to. She was known as the Goddess Diamond. Other ancient cultures had also referred to her as Perfect, and Great Diamond"

Jette's words immediately gained Shade's attention.

"Wait - 'Great Diamond'? That's what they called her on Rottix"

"Bingo" Jette confirmed.

"Is that the reason why you took me to Rottix? To learn about the Great Diamond?"

"Ehhh... Part of it. The other part was that Rottix is just flat-out beautiful. You never did tell me which part of Rottix was your favorite"

"A-Actually..." Shade stuttered, hesitant to reply to Jette "...I haven't visited any part of it"

"......You what....." Jette responded in a monotone voice.

"I-I was stuck on one of the remote tourist islands, I.... looked so different compared to everyone there - I just... hid the whole time..."

"You're telling me that you remained hidden the whole time on a planet that looks up to Gems as role models?" Jette continued to speak in the same mono tone. "*sigh*... We're gonna have a nice long talk once this is over.

Anyways....

The Goddess Diamond eventually found herself on Rottix, where she decided to help out the citizens on that planet, since they were helping her out in trying to discover the past that she'd forgotten ages ago. There, she created four special Diamonds that contained metallic properties..."

As Jette mentioned the Diamonds, she drew a diamond figure on each of the outside border of the center square of the diagram and colored them in,starting at the top and moving clockwise: Gold, Bronze, Copper, then Silver.

"Unfortunately, even with these new Diamonds that the Goddess created, the help that she wanted to provide was still understaffed compared to Rottix's immense population, so the four Diamonds then set out into space to gather - or rather, create - a few extra followers under their command. As you can see by the diagram, I was assigned to Bronze Diamond, along with a few other Diamonds under her belt: Green, Navy, and Lemon"

"Forgive my rude interruption, but what about - I assume - Gold Diamond's followers? Did she not require any?" Pearl asked.

"Patience - that will be explained in time. 

As soon as we arrived, we were assigned specific tasks to assist the citizens with - our unit was a defense unit - set out to help keeping the citizens safe by clearing the roads, skies and waters of anything that threatened their safety.

Copper Diamond's unit - which consisted of White, Yellow, Bliue, and Pink Diamond - was part research and development, and part diplomacy"

"That would explain all the injectors laying around on this planet" Garnet stated.

"Exactly. Those are creations developed by Topaz and ordered to be completed by Yellow Diamond. However, that's a story for another time.

Silver Diamond's unit consisted of Red, Purple, Sky, and Orange Diamonds. They were tasked with medical and spiritual healing and tutoring - meaning that they taught the Rottixians how to not only create and use medicines and healing apparatuses, but also helped them by reassuring their happiness by faith.

Lastly, there was Gold Diamond's unit - tasked with terraforming, irrigation and cultivation. Farmers, basically, however it was an extremely important task - most of the Rottixian's supply had been diminished due to the attacks of the large beasts before our arrival.

After many years of on-and-off good times/bad times, the Rottixians eventually saw peace and prosperity. They had food, water, medicine, technology... and hope. After a while, they even managed to build a trading city on the border of several countries - Donirra, they called it - with their own hands. It made us Diamonds ecstatic watching the Rottixians utilize and apply the knowledge we assisted them with.

However, one ominous night had shown that fate just had to rear its ugly head. An unknown aircraft - never before seen in the history of Rottix - launched an immediate attack on Donirra.

Hundreds - thousands of innocent lives were lost that night. For no reason whatsoever. There were a couple fringe groups that accused the Goddess of the attack, saying that no attack like this had ever occurred before her arrival. Of course - no one took them seriously - the intelligent ones knew better.

Navy Diamond and a handful of her comrades took to the skies to launch a counterattack, but the ship fled before they could reach it.

As they were giving chase, the Goddess kept an eye on the sky round Navy Diamond and noticed that - in the distance - the enemy aircraft was backed with reinforcements.

Yellow Diamond and her science team were then analyzing the method of the attack using various sensors and optical wavelength detectors and discovered that the enemy had used some form of condensed light as a weapon"

"Condensed light?" Onniks asked. "You mean like a laser?"

"Eeehhh... kinda" Jette replied. "The difference is that the weapon that was used in this attack was able to compress raw light matter into a physical form, then blast it out of a canon.

Once the Goddess was informed of how the enemy was using light as a weapon, she quickly devised a plan to counteract it. She knew that since light can be diffracted, she could instead use her crystal clear body to do so...

But....

...."

Jette momentarily paused while remembering the events that unfolded in the past. The saddened expression that she wore was obvious to the group that this subject was heartbreaking for Jette to talk about, yet she knew it had to be done.

"...The end result that she would have to sacrifice her body to do so"

(Wait - a Gem that sacrificed herself to stop an enemy attack?) Shade thought to herself as she listened to Jette's story, with each detail becoming more familiar to her (Then that means that the group that helped the Great Diamond was...)

"She... knew that she didn't stand a chance against the enemy forces on her own, nor did she want to put the other Diamonds in more harm. There was also the issues of a sixteen-to-one battlefield, and the Goddess not being able to travel through the sky fast enough to defeat them all. still, her only option was to reach them before they could strike again.

Obviously, all of us were against the idea of the Goddess risking herself for not only us, but for the entire planet. But as time grew shorter - and the Goddess being extremely stubborn - we didn't exactly have a handful of options.

With Yellow Diamond's expertise, her team was able to develop a long-range canon for the Goddess to fit inside, along with a blasting cap that was made using the same condensed light that the enemy used as the propulsion.

Just before the launch, Yellow Diamond had shown the Goddess a basic schematic for a shell that she could form herself into that would maximize velocity and reduce wind resistance.

Then, as the enemy fleet appeared from behind the twin moons of Rottix, the Goddess realized that there was no more time to waste, so she slid down the barrel of the canon and waited for Yellow Diamond to fire...

Three...

Two...

One...

And...BOOOM! The Goddess Shell soared through the sky at breakneck speeds.

The front enemy ship had to have seen her coming from far away, because it didn't hesitate to fire its light canon for a second.

Just before the burst from the enemy's weapon shot towards the Goddess, she had already fractured her shell, and turned herself into basically a claymore mine - sending countless shards of diamonds hurling towards the enemy blast.

It was as she anticipated - her diamond structure was able to diffract the light from the weapon, which radiated the most brilliant rainbow anyone had ever witnessed on the surface of Rottix.

However, the light blast didn't slow the Goddess' shrapnel down one bit, as nearly every piece had penetrated the hull of all sixteen ships in space, destroying them in an instant.

She... looked like a snow cloud that glistened in the moonlight, the way the shards had traveled. But due to incomplete calculations, a bunch of shards had collided with the moons that the enemy hid behind. They give off this amazing rainbow effect once the moons are in the right positions in the sky.

We even had a name for the Goddess' weapon that was developed for her"

"...The Diamond Dust Canon" Shade spoke, which caused Jette to turn and face her with an impressed expression and posture.

"...That's right. How'd you know that?"

"It's a very popular talking point among tour guides on Rottix - I've overheard it countless times while I kept myself hidden. I just... didn't know that you and the other Diamonds were the ones responsible for the canon - I heard that it was the Rottixians"

"They basically considered us as part of their civilization for all the help that we gave them - that's probably why it's told like that"

Picking up a red marker, Jette scratched an 'X' mark through the dotted square in the center of the diagram.

"Now, with the loss of the Goddess, this put the Metallic Diamonds and a bunch of their followers in a state of severe emotional distress - they... developed this form of schizophrenia, believing that anything that breathed were after them - except for the Rottixians. After several millennia of trust development, the Metallic Diamonds had absolutely no reason to distrust them.

Eventually, every Diamond left Rottix in search of other planets that they could use in strengthening their growing army to launch an offensive against the original enemy. Some of those planets put up a good fight with their technology, while others didn't stand a chance.

Now, of course not all of us were for this. About half of us were against the Metallic Diamond's plot - such as myself, Orange, and Pink Diamond. Others - such as Lemon and Sky - They really didn't want to go through with what they did. Left a bad taste in their mouths. It's just..."

"Do or die', I take it?" Amethyst asked.

"Pretty much" Jette answered. "The first ones to realize this were all of Gold Diamond's unit - all four of them completely opposed the Metallic Diamond's actions. They even fought them to try to stop them, but eventually met a horrible end"

"...They all got shattered" Peridot spoke.

"Shattered'? Heheh. Heheheheheh. Heh. More like 'obliterated" Jette corrected her. "They only wished they were shattered - at least then there woulda been some trace of them left"

"That's... that's insane" Lapis spoke. "If they can wipe out other Diamonds from existence, then I wonder what kind of power they really possess"

"If you value your sanity, then I suggest not to think about it at all" Jette replied.

Turning back to the markerboard, Jette erased the four Metallic Diamond symbols and recolored them back in the blank spots at the top in the same position.

"To prevent another coup, the Metallic Diamonds decided to share full control over the rest of the other Diamonds. After seeing what they did to Gold Diamond's unit, it forced the rest of us that still opposed them to meet together in secret.

...*sigh*....

Unfortunately, Pink Diamond couldn't keep quiet about our meetings and blabbed everything to White, Yellow and Blue. They ended up shattering her, then placed the blame on her right hand - Rose Quartz, convincing the Metallic Diamonds that she'd become a corrupted rogue Gem, which forced the Metallics to order a complete purge among the Diamond's units, eliminating any possible threat in their ranks.

Thus started the Great Gem Rebellion"


	38. Enemy Of My Enemy/Gem And Hybrid History

"So basically, the Rebellion started because Our Diamond Authority assassinated Pink Diamond and painted Rose as a scapegoat all for the sake of instigating a purge?" Pearl asked. "I swear - getting rid of those three will forever remain top priority on my bucket list"

"But what about that unknown enemy that attacked Rottix? Have they ever been identified?" Onniks asked Jette.

"Yep. In fact, it was My Pearl and I that discovered it"

"Just you two? No army like the rest of the Diamonds?"

"No. My Pearl and I rely a lot on stealth to complete our tasks - a large group would be way too noticeable"

"Good point"

"So how did you come across this information?" Pearl asked. "Was there a secret base that you found or something?"

"No. When the Goddess eliminated the fleet, not everything was destroyed. Pearl and I hid in the shadows of the debris, fearing that some of the crew had survived - luckily that wasn't the case. Once Pearl and I reached the flagship, we located the captain's quarters, where we found a collection of technological and historical documents"

Reusing the black marker, Jette drew a curve around the right side of the Diamond diagram with a small arrow pointing to the right. in the leftover space, she drew a circle with a small line extending from the top, bottom, left, and right side of the circle. Then, next to each point of the new lines, she drew a symbol, completely different than the diamond-shaped ones from earlier.

One point's symbol was shown having a curved bottom, with three points sticking up above it, colored in red and orange.

"...Fire...."

Another one had a blue, tear-shaped design with a white square on it.

"...Water..."

The third was simply drawn as a white object with a multitude of small curves connected to each other on a vaguely circular pattern, with three horizontal lines stretching from the side of it.

"...Wind..."

The fourth object was drawn as a square, with the top half colored green, and the bottom half - brown.

"...Earth..."

The final object was drawn instead in the center of the circle; it was a basic-appearing symbol as a circle with two lines inside it that divided the circle into four equal parts.

"...And Spirit..."

"Wait - you're telling us that the enemy that attacked Rottix were living elementals?" Garnet asked.

"Homunculi', would be more accurate a description. They're known as Auricals"

"So, is there any explanation on why these Aurical thingies needed to resort to using a whole fleet of space ships?" Amethyst asked Jette.

"*sigh*... Unfortunately, no. That's one of the few questions we've still yet to answer.

'Why the need for spacecraft?'

'Where did the Auricals come from?'

'How long have they been here?'

'How many of them are there?'

'What is their end game?'

We did, however, discover something else about them - they have a technique that's similar to Gem fusion called 'merging' - where two or more entities combined themselves to create a new one. So, let's say - for example - if the Fire and Earth Auricals merged together, what would anyone guess as to what that would make?"

Steven, relying on his overactive imagination, quickly came up with an answer to Jette's question.

"Oooh - I think I know!" Steven exclaimed, throwing up his hand as if being addressed by a school teacher "That should make something like a volcano!"

"Smart kid - good job" Jette praised.

Pearl then contemplated on Steven's answer, thinking about why Jette had chosen those particular Auricals as examples.

"Hmm... If the Earth and Fire Auricals merge together and become - what I assume - a Volcano Aurical, then that means that it would have to use lava as a weapon. This also means that there would be the Wind, Water and Spirit Auricals remaining. Now, combining wind and lava would just eventually cool down the lava and solidify it, but combining water and lava would make ob-!

...Siddian..."

"Bingo. Now you understand"

"But.. obsidian is an inanimate material - how would it come to life if not through the use of injectors?"

Jette answered Pearl's question by tapping on the Spirit Aurical symbol on the markerboard.

"By this one right here" she replied. "It has the ability to take practically any non-living material and turn it into a sentient being"

"Then does that mean that there could be more than one Siddian?"

"It's very likely, yeah"

"What I wanna know is about that Siddian we defeated a while ago" Onniks stated. "He mentioned that he was a prisoner on Homeworld for some kind of assault - what was that about?"

"Once the Auricals found the location of Homeworld, they had sent him there to attack it directly. He managed to shatter hundreds of Gems before ultimately being subdued by Bronze and Green Diamonds and kept in imprisonment for interrogation"

"And yet the Diamonds decided to release him to attack us instead of coming after us themselves?"

"The figured that they could kill two birds with one stone - figuratively and literally. Since Siddian was being uncooperative during the interrogation, they gave him a bogus plea bargain: eliminate the remainder of Pink Diamond's forces, and earn his freedom - only problem was that the Diamonds knew that despite the limited number of Pink Diamond's forces, they still weren't a group to be taken lightly. The Diamonds ended up pitting you guys against Siddian together, in hopes of both parties eliminating each other at the same time - I'm just glad that their plan obviously backfired"

"So, not only do we gotta worry about the Diamond Authority - which is now almost four times larger than what anyone had thought" Peridot spoke "but now we also hafta deal with these Aurical things? We're so screwed"

"Not necessarily" Jette responded. "The Auricals seem rather invested in dealing with the Diamonds directly. But a fringe group such as this? Odds are they probably don't even know you exist at all"

"However, the Diamond Authority seems pretty hellbent in attacking both fronts" Garnet added.

"Which means that we should be worrying more about the Diamond Authority than the Auricals" Pearl replied "Even though the Auricals aren't exactly friends of ours,we don't seem to present an immediate threat to them. We should instead concentrate on the Diamond Authority - however there's two problems with that: not only do they have immense strength in numbers, they're also unpredictable - we've no way of determining when they'll attack next"

"The best bet is to just wait it out for now and deal with them as they come" Jette spoke. "One thing you gotta give 'em credit for - they have an incredible amount of patience"

"Patience or not - The Diamonds had more than one opportunity to finish us off with the snap of a finger" Amethyst commented. "Do they have some kinda ulterior motive or something?"

"I can't say for certain" Jette answered. "I've severed my ties with them too long ago - I have no idea what they're planning anymore...

*sigh*...Anyways, at any rate - we can afford to take it easy for the time being, but that doesn't mean we can be careless. That's all I have"

As Jette placed the markers back in the box, she then sat back down on the chair next to the coffee table, where Steven then spoke with her about a prior subject.

"Excuse me - Miss Jette?"

"Just 'Jette' is fine, kiddo - no need for formalities"

"Sorry. I just-"

"Don't worry about it - really. Now - whatcha need?"

"I was wondering... if you could tell me about Gem hybrids"

"Hybrids didn't actually start showing up until after Siddian attacked Homeworld, and before the development of the injectors. After Siddian's assault, with a good number of Gems eliminated, we needed to find a way to boost up our numbers. With the assistance of Silver Diamond's medical team researching the biology of organic races, experiments then commenced shortly after dozens of species had been...obtained. And by 'obtained', I mean 'coerced', 'lured', 'blackmailed' and kidnapped'.

The experiments began with the breeding of the races with Pearls, since Pearls were the most abundant and expendable. The results? ...Not so great.

It was discovered that Pearls lacked the amount of magic needed to replicate the genes and DNA of the species.

The Pearls that were used for the experiments ended up going corrupt and mutating into these grotesque abominations of the race that tried to breed with them. The only humane option at that point for them was to shatter their gems as a form of mercy killing.

*sigh* Buuuut unfortunately, the experiments didn't stop there. The Pearls that were used in the experiments were viewed as 'weak' and 'inferior', so they decided to expand their studies by using Quartzes. Through several attempts, their studies were almost satisfactory - almost.

Quartzes have shown that they were able to fully replicate the species' genetic makeup, however some results came with a price: the genetic replication process consumed every bit of magic the Quartzes were able to conjure, which resulted in the genes completely replacing the magic that was embedded in the stone. While the offspring proved to be a success, it still cost the Gem her very life.

A simple - yet cruel - test was conducted on the offspring to determine on whether or not it was able to inherit the abilities of the Gems: they were inflicted with near-fatal wounds to see if the offspring could both regenerate and reform. All of them either died instantly, or bled to death. Since the stones had lost all of their powers, they were removed from the bodies and shattered, while the carcasses were incinerated and used as fuel"

"That's... that's inhumane..." Steven replied, feeling the burden of sadness weighing him down. "There was nothing anyone could do?"

"Nope - nothing. The stones that remained were nothing more than fancy paperweights at that point"

"What exactly happened to the shattered gems?"

"Their shards were collected and dumped off on some protoplanet about a forever ago - I'm not even sure if that planet still exists"

"Then I guess this all means that my mom's permanently gone, huh?"

"Hold your horses, kid - I'm not exactly finished yet.

There was, however, one Gem that succeeded in meeting all the expectations: her name was Lavender Quartz - only three of her kind existed, and that they were designated to Navy Diamond. However one of them volunteered for the experiments - which was rather odd, seeing as how not only Lavender Quartz are stupid rare, but also that even though previous attempts resulted in utter failure, she still put on a brave face and continued the experiments.

Even the Diamonds had shown respect for her because of that.

At the end of the experiment, the end result was the same as it was for the other Quartzes - the offspring -a Rottixian female - survived, however Lavender Quartz was absent. And once again, the secondary stage of experiments began: the Rottixian's life was sacrificed, and the stone dropped to the floor as she disintegrated.

But this time was different....

The stone levitated up, and Lavender Quartz had regenerated. She then almost demanded that the process continued, assuming that the first time was a fluke, but no - they were practically the same. Well - almost. Each regeneration was like flipping a coin - there was only a fifty percent chance that either Lavender Quartz would regenerate, or it was the Rottixian"

"What happened to her after all those experiments?"

"I... honestly don't know. Last I knew, she was escorted off Homeworld with Silver and Navy Diamonds"

"And the injectors? Why use them if everything was nearly perfected?"

"Because everything wasn't perfected. Lower-quality Gems still became corrupted after the experiments - we needed something more efficient"

"You mean the injectors, right? How do those things even work?"

"We first got the idea during Siddian's interrogation. We, uhh... 'acquired'... some samples from him in order to study his physiology. In doing so, we found traces of the Spirit Aurical's magic in the samples. Due to the limited sample size that was available, careful studies had to be conducted. Ultimately, it was found that the Spirit Aurical's magic could be simulated using sound - a frequency. 

From there, a special pod was created that was designed to both survive the impact of landing on ground and digging inside it. Inside the pod itself was an automated robot that was developed with the intent of producing the Spirit Aurical's frequency within a one-mile radius, awakening every Gem within its allotted range, along with embedding them with their default powers"

"So if the experiments were successful up to a point, why didn't the Diamonds go through with it?"

"The research had shown that the amount of magic that was sacrificed in order to replicate organic DNA was lost for good, so the Diamonds had to refuse in order to maintain their might and dominance over the other Gems and maintain the patriarchal infrastructure"

"And yet you still went through with it? But... why?" 

"Heh... Love'll make anyone do crazy things, kid - from sacrificing your power and status to even your very life for someone else. But when the reward outweighs the risk, then second-guessing yourself should never be an option"


	39. Rule Of Three

The next day arrived, and Onniks had half awoken, finding himself laying on his right side on the couch in the front room of the house, not realizing he'd passed out on it. As he woke up a bit more, he noticed that his arms were wrapped around Pearl's waist, with her eyes closed and back turned towards him. Resting his head back down on the pillow, he took in a small sniff of the scent in Pearl's hair as he closed his eyes in relaxation.

"...I take it you like that aroma?" Pearl asked Onniks

"...Smells like... peaches..."

"Is that a problem?"

"Of course not, it's just.. next time, can it be something a little more exotic? Like... pepperoni pizza?"

Pearl then playfully bopped Onniks on his side with her left elbow as she smiled at his typical sense of humor.

"...Freshly baked glazed donuts would be awesome, also" a third voice spoke, which forced Pearl and Onniks to quickly sit up from the couch as they inspected the area, finding Steven standing by, wearing a red over-sized hoodie.

"Oh - Steven! I'm sorry - I uhh..." Pearl started speaking, but was stopped mid sentence by Steven.

"Pearl. Don't worry about it"

"Oh, uhh.. okay." Pearl replied as she ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "So - did you need anything?"

"Yeah, uhh... I'm sorry for asking, but I was wondering if I could get a couple dollars for some donuts or something? Amethyst ate the last bit of food that was left in the cupboards, so..."

As Steven was making his request, Jette and Shade had appeared form the Homeworld room next to the staircase, with Jette dressed in a two-piece bikini and carrying a lawn chair and umbrella with her left arm, and Shade in possession of her own chair, closely listening in on the conversation.

"Curse that girl..." Pearl complained as she stood up from the couch. "She knows she supposed to save you food for later... *sigh* Alright - one sec"

As she shuffled around a few things in her pockets, Pearl then put on a distraught face.

"Uh-oh..."

"Uh-oh?"

"...We're outta money. Is Greg at the shop? Maybe he has something to spare"

"No, he isn't" Steven answered. "He took the van and loaded it up with some cleaning supplies to wash some cars by hand - said something about one of the hoses at the shop malfunctioning"

Pearl then sat back down on the couch, defeated, as she contemplated her options. Meanwhile, Jette - who had overheard the situation - spawned a wad of folded dollar bills that were secured together by a metal clip in her right hand.

"*whistle* Hey - Pearl. Catch" Jette spoke as she flung the wad at her.

As Pearl unraveled the money, her eyes widened as she counted out the stack.

"Three... Four... Five thousand dollars? That's... That's a lot of money - there's no way we can-"

Before Pearl could finish her statement, Jette approached her and leaned in close to her face.

"Pearl. Be quiet and take this money - that's an order"

Pearl then swallowed a gulp of air, overwhelmed by the presence of Jette's intimidation.

"Uh-uh-uh, y-yes ma'am - thank you!"

Jette stared at Pearl for only a moment when she then gave her a smile back and walked towards the front door.

"But... how on Earth did you get all of this?" Pearl asked Jette. "This isn't... counterfeit, is it?"

"sigh* Pearl - don't be dumb - I know you're smarter than that" Jette replied. "See - Seth may not have been the sharpest tool on the shed, but he did have a good sense of financial responsibility. Well - for the most part, anyways. Which reminds me - Onniks?"

Onniks then sprang up from the couch after hearing Jette call his name and turned his attention to her.

"What's up?"

"There's something we need to talk about in private - come find me when you can spare a moment, alright?"

"Yeah - of course"

As Jette walked out the front door, Pearl approached Onniks and handed him a hundred-dollar bill.

"Can you do me a favor, and pick up a combination lock, please? I'm gonna stay here and rig up a few things to make them more Amethyst-proof"

"Yeah - no prob. But you sure a combo lock's gonna stop her?"

"It will when I'm finished"

"Hey, Onniks - is it okay if I tagged along with you to the store?" Steven asked.

"Sure - I don't mind"

As Onniks cracked open the front door, a light gust of cool breeze snuck through and brushed against his face.

"Eeuughhhh..." Onniks groaned, wearing a sour face.

"What's up?" Steven asked. "Somethin' wrong?"

"...Fresh air...." Onniks replied miserably.

As they stepped on the balcony, Pearl verbally stopped them for a second before they reached the steps.

"And try not to weigh yourselves down with Mountain Mist. I mean - I understand that you need your life support, but you shouldn't be bringing back a lifetime supply of it"

"Alright! Alright!" Onniks replied with a small chuckle. "But I'm still gettin' you some of that pizza-scented shampoo"

Pearl then made a fist in her right hand as her cheeks puffed out, fighting to contain the laughter that ended up sputtering from her lips.

"Just get out!" Pearl jested as she pointed out the door.

As they reached the bottom of the steps, Steven talked to Onniks regarding their destinations.

"So - where do you think we should go to first?" Steven asked.

As Onniks kept their destinations in mind, he also considered the weather outside - slightly chilly and partly cloudy.

"Hmmm... Let's hit the supermarket first" Onniks replied. "That way when we get to the Big Donut, we can order some fresh warm ones for the way home"

"I like the way you think!" Steven spoke as they headed for the store.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

With a family-sized box of frozen lasagna in a plastic bag on Onniks' left hand, and a six-pack of Mountain Mist in another that Steven carried, the two had finally reached the Big Donut, with Onniks fiddling with the combination lock that Pearl requested. With the lock disengaged, the two entered the shop, where they were introduced by a rather short female - barely taller than Steven, with blonde curly hair and a purple shirt that appeared to be part of her work uniform.

"Hey! Steven! Long time, no see!" she spoke as she rearranged the bills in the cash register.

"Sadie! What's up!?" Steven replied.

"Oh, nothing much here as usual" she - Sadie - answered as she finished her chore and closed the register. As she glanced at Steven, she then noticed Onniks standing beside him."OH! New guy!" she emphasized "Been seeing you around a bit for a while - I was thinking you had a fear of donuts or something"

"The only donut fear I have is not being able to tell the difference between regular and creme-filled ones" Onniks replied as he set his grocery bag on the floor and began twirling the lock in his hand, causing Sadie to give out a humored sputter. "But seriously - things have been epically hectic lately - just haven't had the time to relax until recently"

It was then that a second store worker appeared, a teenage male with red curly hair and gauged ear lobes, and just short of Onniks' height of a few inches. He brung in a thin metal cooking sheet full of fresh donuts and slid them inside a small display case with a glass window on the front then leaned back against a clear door behind him, pretending that he'd worked more than his fair share.

"So, if you're friends with Steven then does that mean that you know about those Gem girls as well?" Sadie asked.

"Yeah, uhh, I've been staying with them for a while now - they've been a huge help"

"Man, you might wanna stay as far away from those chicks as possible" the red-haired teen spoke.

"Oh? Why's that?" Onniks asked,

"Because - clearly they're bad news - can't you see that?"

"Lars - stop it. You know that's not true at all" Sadie chimed in.

Onniks then leaned against the small display, still fidgeting with the lock - not buying a single word the worker - Lars - said, yet still entertained him for a moment to humor him.

"...And how, exactly, are they 'bad news'?"

"What - you can't tell? First, there's that purple girl: why's she gotta eat everything she can fit her mouth around? And where's all that stuff going?"

"Well, yeah - Amethyst can make some irrational decisions, but I can tell that her intentions to her family are good"

"And what's up with that green gremlin-looking girl? You don't find her obnoxious at all?"

"Peridot? Yeah - she can be hyper-active, but she also has a ton of experience in computers and technology. She seems to be very talented for someone her age"

"And that one chick - the one with the round thing on her forehead? She's the worse one of them all!"

"This oughtta be good..."

"You're actually gonna try to defend that paranoid broad? The way she keeps walking around sometimes - it's like she thinks everyone's out to get her or something"

"Everyone has trust issues. And besides - I think she's a lovely, charming person once you overlook her simple flaws"

"Simple flaws? Man - you're just as delusional as she is! I mean - what kind of psychopath still obsesses over some dead old bi-"

SLAAAM!

*cla-click*

Before Lars could finish his insult, Onniks had not only slammed his face against the donut rack that he stocked and latched the combination lock through his ear lobe, but also had Lars secured by clenching onto a handful of hair, with his ninjato already summoned and pointed directly at Lars. Sadie, however, backed herself away into a corner past the cash register in fear.

"Now, you listen here - and you listen good, you piece of shit" Onniks antagonized "It seems to me that the reason Pearl has 'trust issues' is because of judgmental assholes like you always assuming the worst in everybody without even taking a minute out of your pitiful life to even try to understand what's going on"

"Alright, man! I get it! Just let me-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" Onniks exclaimed as he tugged Lars around by his hair. "Let me tell you something: I really don't appreciate you insulting my friends and family like this. That 'dead old woman' you mentioned? That was both Steven's mom and the Gem's mentor - who taught them a lot about humility and respect - something you need to learn a lot about"

Onniks then felt a tug pulling his right arm down. As he glanced back, he saw Steven grabbing his forearm with a saddened expression pressed on his face.

"Onniks - please. Don't do this" Steven spoke.

As Onniks looked at Steven, he struggled to regain his composure, ultimately despawning his weapon and flinging Lars against the glass window behind the counter.

"...You better be groveling at Steven's feet" Onniks spoke to Lars "he just saved your life this time"

Pulling out a wad of bills from the leftover change from the grocery store earlier, Onniks slapped it on the counter next to the register, not even bothering to count out the denominations.

"Get Steven whatever he wants" Onniks spoke as he walked away form the counter, repossessing the plastic bag he set down moments ago and stormed out of the front door.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch time had came about, and both Sadie and Lars had put on their coats, locked up the shop and headed towards the beach house, assuming Onniks headed there after he left the Big Donut. As they pressed on towards the coast, they spotted two silhouettes sitting in lawn chairs with an umbrella placed between them. Closing in on the two figures, that's when Sadie and Lars approached then from the left and found Jette and Shade there, with Jette closest to them, reading a book in an unrecognizable language while wearing a two-piece bikini.

"Ma'am - what in the world are you doing out here, dressed like that?" Sadie asked Jette.

"It should be obvious: I'm getting a tan"

"Yeah, but... it's like - fifty degrees out here"

"I have sensitive skin...." Jette replied as she turned a page from her book.

Lars then nonchalantly approached Jette and attempted to flatter Jette.

"It may be cool outside, but boy are YOU hot!"

*pinch/twist*

CCKKCRIIICCK!

"OWOWOW!" Lars cried out.

Without even removing her eyes from her book, Jette had grabbed Lars' nose with her left hand and twisted it hard enough to the right to bring him to his right knee. As she turned her focus to the downed Lars, she noticed his unwanted earring that was gifted from Onniks. keeping a firm grasp on his nose, she then spoke about his unfortunate situation.

"Yknow - when I was your age, the fad was wearing novelty clocks as necklaces. Now - I understand that you wanna 'bring old-school back', but I'd suggest that you find something more... original"

"Tch - lady, when you were our age, they were having discount sales on sundials" Lars replied, but was interrupted by a sharp pain on his nose.

CRRUUNNCH!

"OOOWWWW!!" he moaned as Jette twisted his nose the other direction.

"*sigh* Lars, just let me do the talking" Sadie spoke. "Anyways - ma'am, were looking for a guy..."

"Hm - aren't we all, dear?" Jette replied with a smirk.

"What - no, that's not what I meant" Sadie spoke, which she then pointed at Lars "We're looking for the guy that did this to my friend, and we believe he may have come this way, so we were wondering if you'd seen him?"

"Possibly - there were several people combing the beach a while ago. What did he look like?"

"Mmmm... about six feet, kinda long black hair, a gray shirt, and a pair of awesome pants"

"Why yes - I did see him, in fact"

"That guy's a raging lunatic!" Lars spoke. "Why are you still-"

^twist*

CCCRRAACCKK!!

"AAAUUUGGH!"

Jette twisted Lars' nose yet again to the right to stop him mid-sentence.

"That 'raging lunatic' you speak of - is my son" Jette replied, which surprised both Lars and Sadie. "And if he done something like that to you" Jette continued as she glanced back at Lars' makeshift earring, then to Sadie once again "then you must've really pissed him off. Tell me - what was it that happened?"

"I swear - I didn't say nothin'!" Lars pleaded, which caused Jette to yank on his nose in response.

"I wasn't talkin' to you, twerp - I was talking to your friend here"

"...*sigh* Lars insulted a few of the girls that are staying at the house over there" Sadie answered as she looked back briefly and pointed at the beach house behind her. "Everything was actually rather calm, until Lars mentioned Pearl"

*twiiist*

CKCKRREEAKK!!

"A-HA-HA-HA-HAWW - why do you keep doing that!?" Lars complained.

"Because you can't stop being a moron - first, you insult my son, then you belittle his lover?

*sigh*

You should be lucky that I'm far too busy to be dealing with you right now. Pearl - pass her the paper"

Obeying Jette's order, Shade reached under her chair and retrieved a sheet of folded printer paper, then passed it to Sadie. As she unfolded it, she saw a list of what appeared to be random numbers in a sequence, with four numbers in each row.

"One of those combinations is the correct one - have fun figuring out which one"

"Come on, Lars - lets get this thing off" Sadie spoke as she handed him the paper. "Read me the numbers, and I'll work the lock"

As Sadie and Lars moved to an open area of the beach close by, Garnet silently snuck by and approached Jette with a question.

"Excuse me - Miss Jette?"

"The one and only" Jette egotistically answered as she listened to the two try to fiddle with the combination lock.

"Try six, twenty-one, three, and eleven" Lars spoke as he read the numbers aloud.

*tug tug*

"Nope - nothing" Sadie replied.

"Gah - fuck!"

"Anyways - I'm looking for Onniks" Garnet continued "by any chance have you happened to see him?"

"I'll tell you - one one condition" Jette replied.

"What condition would that be?"

"Just sit here with me and enjoy the scenery" Jette answered as she subtly hinted towards Lars and Sadie. Garnet complied, sitting on the sand next to Jette, grinning as she knew the entertainment value of their situation.

"Okay... try nineteen, eight, nine, and twenty" Lars spoke.

"tug tug*

"Huh-uh"

"Shit! Alright, uhh... four, one, thirteen, and fourteen"

*tug*

"Still nothing"

"Damn! *sigh*... Let's just figure this out back at the shop" Lars suggested. "It's gettin' cold as hell sittin' out here"

As Sadie and Lars headed back to the Big Donut, Jette continued her conversation with Garnet.

"Anyways - to answer your question: yeah, I saw him. He handed me that sheet of paper those kids had and said that if I see a dweeb with a combo lock earring come here, then I was to give him that paper. After that, he said that he was gonna cool off at some training spot with a multi-layered pool"

"I think I know where he is - thank you, ma'am" Garnet replied as she stood up and headed back towards the house. However, she stopped herself momentarily to ask Jette one last question.

"By the way - I take it you didn't have the heart to tell those kids that the list you gave them was filled with coded vulgarity?"

"You kiddin'?" Jette replied. "I didn't even have the heart to tell them that none of those combinations were the correct one"


	40. Under The Bridge

As she stepped off the warp pad, Garnet noticed the slow seasonal transition that encompassed the training area that she had taken Onniks to several months ago. The ground was covered with a thin layer of frost, and the trees were now half covered with their leaves, some of which had changed into the autumn season colors of shades of reds, oranges, yellows and browns. The water in the pool had a ring of ice layering its outer edge, and the waterfall had slowed down to a trickle.

Further upstream from the pool, Garnet heard the sound of something thumping against one of the trees and decided to investigate. One a few seconds later she found Onniks - standing in a basic fighting stance, wearing only his shorts facing a single tree with his back turned towards her.

"There you are" Garnet spoke. "Been lookin' everywhere for ya"

*thump*

Onniks then took a single punch at the tree, not saying a word.

"Jette said you'd be here" she continued. "Said something about you needing to 'cool off"

*thump*

"....Yeah..." Onniks replied unenthusiasticaly.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that dinner is ready"

*thump*

"...Alright..."

"Are... you sure you're alright?" Garnet asked, concerned about Onniks' lack of enthusiasm "You don't seem as excited about Pearl's cooking today as normal"

"*sigh*...I'm fine..."

Garnet, however, was still skeptical of Onniks' somber attitude. As she took a step to her right, she saw several red blotches splattered along the trunk of the tree.

"Onniks? What's going on?" she asked.

As Onniks lowered his hands, he slowly turned and faced her, shaking at his knees as he staggered with each step. As Garnet took a solid look at Onniks, that's when she noticed the reason why there were red marks on the tree: Onniks' knuckles and the balls of his feet were both severely damaged - to the point where the skin broke in multiple spots, and the blood ran down his fingers and toes. The dark rings around his eyes were evidence of fatigue taking a toll on his body.

Garnet was in complete shock, not expecting Onniks to force himself to endure such punishment.

"Onniks... Just... What the hell?" Garnet spoke.

"... I needed to cool off" he answered simply.

As Onniks started to walk away, Garnet notice that during the couple steps he took, his legs began to shake as the weight of his body dragged him down.

"Don't move" Garnet spoke as she picked him up and slung him over her left shoulder.

"...What are you doing?" Onniks asked tiringly.

"Getting you back home" Garnet answered, just before taking off in a sprint to the warp pad and activating it, heading back to the house in a hurry.

As they entered undetected, Garnet spotted Steven, Lapis and Peridot sitting at the kitchen table, while Pearl and Amethyst were conversing with each other on the couch. Silently making her way towards the bathroom, Garnet grabbed a clean towel then proceeded to the living room, where everyone then focused their attention to her and an injured Onniks, shocked to see that he needed to be carried by Garnet. Garnet then placed the towel on the table in front of the couch, and Onniks on the seat in front of it, hoisting his feet up on the table.

"Keep a close eye on him" she spoke to Pearl. "I'm gonna go and get some emergency supplies"

As Garnet disappeared via the warp pad, Pearl hurried over to the kitchen sink, where she soaked a rag in warm water and returned to Onniks, using the damp rag to clean the dry blood from his hands and feet.

"Onniks - what the hell were you thinking?" Pearl scolded. "Why did you do this to yourself?"

"...It was... earlier... today...-"

"Onniks, man, save your energy" Steven talked over him "I was there with you - I'll explain everything.

It all started earlier today back at the Big Donut - Onniks and I stopped there last because 'fresher donuts were better'. Anyways - Onniks and Sadie were having a civilized conversation, but when Onniks mentioned that he was staying at the house, that's when Lars decided to butt in with his usual pessimism.

First, he brought up Amethyst, and then Peridot - which Onniks immediately came to their defense"

"Aww, you really DO care!" Amethyst joked at Onniks.

"Wait - you... defended me?" Peridot asked. "But why? I mean - I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but still..."

"...Sure... you get on my nerves..." Onniks answered slowly, preserving what little strength he had "...But I know your intentions are still good"

"Oh. Uhh... thanks, uh..." Peridot responded nervously as she turned on her chair and slightly faced away from Onniks.

As a feint blue light emitted from the back of the house, Garnet reappeared with a small box of medical supplies and two extra towels. Returning to Onniks, she placed a single towel under each arm, then soaked the wounds with peroxide. While Pearl began applying bandages around his knuckles, Garnet poured the peroxide down his feet, where Pearl then took over the rest of the treatment.

"Anyways, things were going somewhat calm" Steven continued "until Lars mentioned you, Pearl. Naturally, Onniks defended you - and I as well, in a sense"

"You, too?" Inquired Pearl. "What was it that he said?"

"Well, first there was a basic exchange of words that Onniks was able to verbally counteract - until Lars brought up mom rather negatively. Fortunately, Onniks stopped him before he said something about her he woulda regretted, but that didn't come without a price. Just before Lars could finish his not-so-nice comment, Onniks reactively slammed his head against a counter and pointed his sword at him - luckily, I managed to stop him from doing something he'd regret. After that, Onniks stormed out of the shop"

"So, he decided to take his anger out on an inanimate object, as opposed to another human" Lapis spoke. "That would explain why he used a tree as target practice, but not his injuries"

"After a while, I... lost all train of thought" Onniks replied. "I had... completely forgotten... why I was there... in the first place"

Pearl then curled up on Onniks' right side, resting her head as gently as possible on his shoulder, trying to comfort him as she closed her eyes for a nap.

"*yaaaawn* Anyways - go get yourself some rest, man" Amethyst spoke to Onniks as she stood up and stretched out her back "Someone'll help you if you need something"

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, Onniks woke up to sounds of whispers of undetermined words coming from in front of him. First, he noticed Pearl gone from his side. Then, as he glanced in the direction of the sound, he saw Lapis and Peridot still sitting at the kitchen table chatting with each other as quietly as possible.

"I'm surprised you two are still here" Onniks spoke, which drew the attention of the two.

"Yeah - we just wanted to here just in case you needed something" Lapis replied.

"Thanks, I appreciate that - really. Where'd Pearl run off to?"

"She's in her room - said she didn't wanna disturb you from your rest"

"Ah. Gotcha."

"So - you feelin' any better" Peridot asked Onniks.

"Kinda. I'm still in excruciating pain, and I look like a mummy - but at least I can talk normally"

"That's good" Peridot replied as she stood up from her chair and approached Onniks. "Well, since you're up for now, there's something I gotta tell ya"

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Not sure if you heard - since you were on the verge of passing out and all - but I heard what you said about me when Steven told us what happened"

She then took a couple steps closer towards him, then leaned over at her waist, gently wrapping her arms around his neck as she gave him a warming hug.

"...Thank you" she spoke softly in his ear. "I know we can both be a pain in each other's ass, but still..."

"Don't mention it" he answered, which then Peridot removed her arms and leaned back up.

"Anyways, I'm gonna head out now so you can get some more rest" she finished, then walked over to the warp pad, where she then left for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, as Lapis blushed a little as she stared mindlessly at Peridot's leaving, Onniks quickly diverted her attention.

"Homeworld to Lapis" he spoke, causing Lapis to flinch a little in her chair.

"Huh? - Oh, sorry, I was just.... uhh..."

"Staring at Peridot infatuately?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"Blatantly"

"....Oh. Shit. I..."

"So - what was it that attracted you to her?"

"*sigh*... She's so... smart and handy... and pretty to boot, she's... everything I'm not"

"That's complete bullshit, and you know it"

"...You really think so?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it myself"

"...Heh - thanks" Lapis answered as she nervously rubbed ther arm.

"So then - why dontcha just tell her?" asked Onniks, switching the focus back to Peridot.

"Tell her what?"

"That you're in love with her"

"WHAT! NO-" Lapis blurted out, quickly stopping herself before she made any further racket. "*sigh* There's no way I can do that..."

"See - its THAT kinda negativity that you need to cut out of your life. Just take all that doubt you have - ball it up, flatten it out, cut it into a bunch of strips, toss 'em into a pot of boiling water, add some onions and avocados, sit back a few minutes and realize that this concoction is gonna be disgusting, then flush it all down the toilet"

Lapis then chuckled a little, listening to Onniks' typically absurd explanation.

"*sigh*... Alright. But I need some time - old habits aren't exactly easy to break. YOU - however - need to get some sleep" Lapis spoke as she hopped off her chair. "Catch ya in the morning"

\------------------------------------------------------------------

(knock knock knock)

*blink blink* "....?"

(knock knock)

"I swear - whoever that is better have a damn good reason for waking me up at... whatever time of day it is" Onniks complained as he groggily stared at the door, trying to adjust his sight as he pondered about the blurred figure on the other side. "Come in" Onniks spoke "I kinda can't move right now, so... yeah"

As the screen door flung open, the person behind it was revealed to be Lars, carrying a white cardboard box. He was surprised, seeing Onniks bandaged up, but veered his attention slightly away from him.

"Yeah, so, uhh.. I just wanted to say sorry for the way I acted yesterday - I shouldn't have said anything about your friends like that"

Lars then walked up to Onniks and placed the box on his lap; the aroma of fresh donuts filled the air around them.

"Here -uhh - a peace offering" Lars spoke.

As Onniks glanced at Lars, he could tell that there was a sign of sincerity in his words, though he was unable to determine exactly how much he meant what he said.

"*sigh* Actually... I wanna apologize as well" Onniks replied. "I shouldn't have done what I did - It's just that I get severely defensive when anyone insults my friends and family"

"No - you were right" Lars spoke "I shouldn't have been so quick to judge - it's just that with all the weird crap that's been happening over the years, it kinda came natural..."

A quick moment of awkward silence fell upon the two, which Lars broke immediately.

"Yeah, so I gotta get back to work. Catch ya later" he finished with a wave goodbye as he exited the house.

As the smell of fresh donuts continued to fill the air, Onniks heard a small giggle coming from above him. As he looked up, he noticed Steven peeking over the edge of his bedroom floor with his star-filled eyes and satisfactory smile.

"Awww, looks like somebody made a new friend!" Steven joked.

"Pssh - man, whatever" Onniks replied in kind. "Anyways - you on for some breakfast?"

Steven hopped over the ledge of his bedroom and onto the couch next to Onniks after hearing one of his favorite words.

"Here - lets see what this 'box of peace' has to offer" Steven spoke as he turned to white box on Onniks' lap towards him and opened it. Inside it were a dozen freshly-baked donuts of varying shapes and sizes, all of which gave Onniks a sense of disappointment.

"Man - this 'peace offering' is just the worst" cried Onniks.

"What? Why's that?" Steven asked.

"...There isn't a single creme-filled donut anywhere in this box"


End file.
